UK Anti-Doping hails new integrity body for UK sport

A new cross-sport Integrity Forum is being set up to help tackle a range of issues including safeguarding and athlete welfare.

The move follows research commissioned by the UK Anti-Doping Agency (Ukad).

A study by Swansea University found more than half of British sports surveyed dedicated less than £10,000 per year to fund integrity functions.

It comes amid a developing crisis in gymnastics, the latest sport to be hit by allegations of bullying and abuse.

Ukad chairman Trevor Pearce said: "Anti-doping is just one issue where the integrity of sport is under threat.

"Safeguarding, discrimination, match-fixing and organisational corruption are all threats to the values we hold dear in sport.

"As an organisation which lives and breathes the fight for integrity in sport, Ukad wants to bring together a coalition of organisations to start to address and combat sport's wider problems, with a single effort."

Earlier this month, BBC Sport revealed that have been 19 allegations of emotional abuse or neglect of British world-class programme athletes by coaches since 2017, including seven so far this year.

Jane Allen, the chief executive of crisis-hit governing body British Gymnastics, admitted it had "fallen short" in protecting its members after recent allegations of mistreatment.

She also backed the idea of an independent sports ombudsman to "hold governing bodies to account and provide a higher level of review for controversial cases".

The Sports Integrity Forum has received government backing, and will meet for the first time next month, hosted by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said: "Protecting the integrity of sport is paramount and I welcome today's report.

"Our new Sport Integrity Forum will bring together organisations from across the sector to discuss some of the most complex challenges facing sport today.

"This will help to ensure that the UK continues to defend and strengthen the integrity of the sports we love."

The study produced by Swansea University revealed that 75% of sport organisations had an integrity function, but that there was a disparity in funding.