Anti-doping body for 2012
2007-12-05 18:16
London - The British government has
announced the formation of an independent body to bolster
anti-doping measures in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics.
UK Sport and the Departure of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS)
said on Wednesday that the National Anti-Doping Organisation
(Nado) will be up and running well before the Games.
It will operate outside UK Sport, the government agency
currently responsible for implementing and managing Britain's
anti-doping policy.
The move follows a comprehensive six-month review of the
country's anti-doping measures by a working party comprising
members of UK Sport and DCMS.
Earlier this year a cross-party committee of British
parliamentarians accused the government of being complacent in
putting together a robust system to catch drug cheats.
Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe welcomed the
recommendations, saying the Nado will mean drug cheats have "no
place to hide".
"Establishing a new, independent anti-doping organisation is
a natural evolution in the fight against drugs in sport," he
said in a statement.
No place to hide
"In the same way drug cheats are constantly finding new ways
to beat the system, we have to constantly look at what we do to
catch them.
"We have to ensure they have no place to hide and these new
powers, implemented by an independent agency, will help us do
that. By 2012 drug cheats will never have had it so bad."
The Nado will work more closely with law enforcement
agencies to stem the supply of prohibited substances.
It will also take away the onus on national governing bodies
to bring doping cases themselves - a situation that has raised
fears of conflicts of interest in the past.
Sue Campbell, chair of UK Sport, said current anti-doping
measures were in danger of being overtaken by the increasingly
sophisticated supply and use of performance-enhancing drugs.
"People who are determined to cheat are increasingly
sophisticated in the ways in which they go about their business,
as are the people that supply and manipulate them, and we need
to ensure we adapt our approach accordingly," she said.
"The scale of this type of operation, particularly in terms
of the single focus required, simply means that the role of the
Nado has outgrown its current position within UK Sport."
- Reuters