A British anti-doping consultant said on 3 April she was disappointed but not surprised at newspaper allegations swirling round a London doctor. Michele Verroken, a former director of ethics and anti-doping at UK Sport, was reacting to a Sunday Times report that the doctor prescribed banned performance-enhancing drugs to leading sports personalities. The government has ordered an inquiry into the way the allegations were handled by Britain's anti-doping agency, which said they fell outside of its jurisdiction.

The Sunday Times reported that Dr Mark Bonar claimed his clients included an England cricketer, British Tour de France cyclists, a British boxing champion, tennis players and martial arts competitors, as well as footballers. UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), Britain's anti-doping agency, said it was "deeply concerned and shocked" by the report.

Verroken added: "I think it's very sad because people are losing faith in what they're seeing; they're losing trust, they're losing confidence, but not only in sport, but now in the anti-doping movement and I think what we've seen happen elsewhere in the world, in Russia, certainly in other parts of the world, now happening here in the UK, is hugely disappointing."

Russia was suspended from international track and field last year following a report exposing widespread cheating and corruption among its athletes. The country faces a ban from the Olympics unless Russia can prove to the World Anti-Doping Agency and the IAAF governing body that it has met a series of conditions regarding its anti-doping operations.

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