Britain has set up a new National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO) which aims to put the country in the forefront of the battle against drug cheats in the build-up to the 2012 London Olympics.

Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe said this week the new body would be in operation by the end of the year.

He said NADO would take on existing testing and education responsibilities from UK Sport, while also being granted significant new powers and enjoying greater links with law enforcement agencies.

NADO will invest £7.2 million ($10.37 million) in anti-doping in 2010-11, a 60 per cent increase on the current budget.

"The global fight against doping in sport has shifted and the move to a new, stand-alone NADO reflects that change," Sutcliffe said at the launch of the new agency.

"NADO will build on the excellent work of UK Sport which has established us as a world leader in the field."

Sutcliffe said the government had learned from cases such as the BALCO laboratory scandal in the United States and the Operation Puerto doping investigation in Spain that it needed to be able to target the manufacturers, traffickers and suppliers of prohibited substances.

"We have already started to build relations with law enforcement agencies ensuring that NADO will be equipped with the powers and intelligence to stop cheats before they reach the start line," he said.

John Steele, chief executive of UK Sport, said: "NADO marks an exciting new chapter in anti-doping in the UK and we are sending out a clear statement of intent ahead of 2012 that doping in this country will not be tolerated."