Guinness has warned it has ‘serious concerns’ about London Irish signing controversial former Ireland rugby star Paddy Jackson.

The drinks giant’s parent company Diageo has told the Irish Daily Mail it will meet the club this week to discuss the decision, which ‘is not consistent with our values’.

Guinness has sponsored London Irish for almost 30 years, and the move will renew focus on the decision of the club – led by former Ireland coach Declan Kidney – to hire the controversial out-half. Ex-Ireland international Jackson, along with then Ulster and Ireland team-mate Stuart Olding, were found not guilty of rape at a trial in Belfast last year.

However, the Irish Rugby Football Union tore up both players’ contracts due to a series of vile WhatsApp messages that they exchanged with two other defendants, which came to light as part of the court case.

Jackson played for French side Perpignan last season before London Irish announced in May that he would join the newly promoted side ahead of the new campaign.

London Irish director of rugby Kidney – who led Ireland to their historic Grand Slam in 2009 – insisted he was ‘very happy’ to have Jackson on his team, saying: ‘We are fully aware that there was a court case that Paddy was involved in but that has been dealt with. What has gone on in the past has gone on in the past and we are just trying to move on to the future.’ But the move prompted an angry backlash from many fans. And last week one of the club’s sponsors, Cash Converters, announced it would not continue its association with London Irish.

‘As a company, we are committed to the highest possible standards when it comes to our investments in any sponsorships and collaborations,’ read a tweet by the company, posted last week.

‘As a result of a detailed and thorough review of our support for London Irish, we have decided to discontinue our association with the club.’ The club has insisted the decision to part ways was not related to the signing of former Ulster star Jackson. ‘The club would like to clarify that the decision to part ways at the end of 2018/19 season was made before the announcement of player signings in May 2019, and for reasons unrelated to player signings,’ a London Irish statement read.

However, this appears to contradict the Cash Converters UK statement, which was sent in direct response to a tweet highlighting the WhatsApp messages that emerged during the trial.

And last night’s statement from Diageo Plc, the owner of Guinness, is likely to ratchet up pressure on the club over the decision to sign Jackson.

Guinness is the club’s longest standing sponsor, but in the statement released to Extra.ie, a spokeswoman for Diageo plc said: ‘We are meeting the club this week to discuss our serious concerns regarding their decision, which is not consistent with our values.’ When contacted by the Extra.ie yesterday, London Irish referred us back to its previous statement that the decision by Cash Converters was not linked to the signing of Paddy Jackson.

The club did not respond when pressed on the fact that the Cash Converters statement was posted in response to a tweet specifically mentioning Jackson and the WhatsApp messages.

It also ignored our queries about the concerns raised by Diageo, despite repeated requests for comment. On the London Irish website, it states: ‘Guinness continue their proud sponsorship of London Irish, having supported the club since 1992, complementing their strong association with rugby on both a domestic and international scale.

‘Being our longest-standing sponsor to date, they are truly a part of the London Irish family and have been supporters of The Craic on match days at the Madejski as well as the ever popular Guinness Village on our annual St Patrick’s Party Match.’ When Ulster Rugby’s new CEO Jonny Petrie spoke to the press in February, he effectively closed the door on a return to the club for either Jackson or Olding.

‘I’ve been brought here to move this place forward, and to do that I don’t see that we should be reopening old wounds that have caused such division within the sport and across society,’ he said.

‘We want to draw a line in the sand and make this place about the rugby. We need to move this club forward.’ Jackson was cleared of all charges during the ten-week rape trial in Belfast, but his contract was revoked by the IRFU and Ulster Rugby after a joint internal review following the case.

Public fury was ignited after a series of text messages exchanged between Jackson and fellow players including Ulster star Olding were detailed in the trial.

They included one from Olding that read: ‘We are all top shaggers. There was a bit of spit roasting going on last night.’ Jackson added: ‘There was a lot of spit roast last night.’ In a statement after the contracts were revoked, the IRFU and Ulster Rugby said: ‘In arriving at this decision, the IRFU and Ulster Rugby said they acknowledged their responsibility and commitment to the core values of the game – respect, inclusivity and integrity.

‘It has been agreed, as part of this commitment, to conduct an in-depth review of existing structures and educational programmes, within the game in Ireland, to ensure the importance of these core values is clearly understood, supported and practised at every level of the game.’ Jackson and Olding had denied raping a woman at a house in south Belfast on June 28, 2016.

Jackson denied a further charge of sexual assault, while Olding denied a charge of rape.

Both men were acquitted on all counts.