Britain to tighten police and sport links in war on drugs

Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe has announced a working group to look at how UK Sport and the police could join forces in the fight against doping. "It is increasingly the case that testing alone isn't enough to prevent doping in sport," Sutcliffe was quoted as saying on the Web site of UK Sport (www.uksport.org.uk), the government body responsible for elite sport and drug-testing in Britain. Sutcliffe said he wants UK Sport to work with law enforcement agencies to combat drugs in sport, especially "non-analytical" doping offences such as trafficking, possession and supply.

According to UK Sport, the working group is expected to include representatives from the Home Office, the police, Revenue and Customs and the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

"We have seen in other countries how partnerships between law enforcement agencies, other relevant public authorities and sports bodies can be effective in getting to the root of doping, namely the possession and supply of prohibited substances," Sutcliffe added.

"It is timely for us to assess how such partnerships could work in the UK, how existing legislation can be used, and any potential gaps that might need addressing." John Scott, director of Drug-Free Sport at UK Sport, said he would welcome the help of law enforcement agencies in the fight against doping. "Athletes who take prohibited substances are potentially at the end of a long chain of people who are sourcing, trafficking and supplying the drugs," he said on the Web site.

Britain tightened its anti-doping measures last month by setting up the Sports Dispute Resolution Panel to organise independent panels to hear doping cases rather than national governing bodies dealing with them.