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 goverment 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.
"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, chairman 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."
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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 goverment 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.
"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, chairman 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."
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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