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Kevin Pietersen was given an armed police escort out of Heathrow airport this morning after returning to England from his holiday in South Africa.

Pietersen, who resigned as England captain yesterday, tried to slip out of a side door but was greeted by a crowd of photographers and cameramen.

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After landing on a Virgin flight from Johannesburg, Pietersen left in a black car without making any comment.

He later issued a statement saying that he wished to keep his own counsel on the matter for the moment, though his representatives stressed that he remained fully committed to touring West Indies later this month.

The statement read: “In light of recent events between the ECB and myself, I’m going to take some time out to reflect on the situation and spend time with family and friends. I will be responding to the current press speculation in due course.”

The all-rounder resigned before being sacked while Peter Moores was dismissed as England coach on a dramatic and damaging day for English cricket.

Hugh Morris, the managing director of the ECB, explained that there had been an "irretrievable breakdown of the relationship between captain and coach".

Andrew Strauss was appointed as Pietersen's successor and will captain England in the Caribbean, charged with restoring unity to a divided dressing room in time for this summer's Ashes series.

Michael Vaughan, the man Pietersen took over from five months ago, has endorsed Strauss's credentials to lead the side.

Vaughan, who led England to their 2005 Ashes series victory, said a "decent man" like Strauss fits the bill at a critical time.

"If there is one man who can get the England team to gel and bring the players together after weeks or even months of damaging rumours, it is Andrew Strauss," Vaughan said in his newspaper column.

"In the 18 months since Peter Moores took over as coach the results have not been good - but I think Strauss will be a very, very good captain.

"Such a decent man can bring back maturity and stability to the England team."

Vaughan's omission from the squad to face the West Indies in the upcoming tour was reportedly the issue which pushed Pietersen and Moores' disagreements to an unworkable level. Pietersen wanted his old captain back in the ranks - a policy resisted by the selectors in his absence. Yet Vaughan still hopes that yesterday's drama can help England move forward.

"It may be that everything happens for a reason and things will turn out the best for English cricket," he said. "What Kevin has to do now is go to the West Indies and score a hundred in the first Test, then all the controversy will be forgotten.

"KP is very much his own person, which shows in his batting. He has never used a batting coach, he relies on his natural flair, he does it his own way, like the maverick he is. That is the genius he is.

"He is the one England player I have played with who has the ability to sustain that No 1 position in the world. He is that good. That now has to be his goal."

The Yorkshire batsman also ruled himself out of following Moores into the top coaching role in the country. "I'd like to add that I'm not interested in coaching England or anyone else at the moment.

"I want to play and score hundreds for Yorkshire and England again."