Clive Efford MP, Labour’s Shadow Sports Minister, responding to the release of the World Anti-Doping Agency report into doping and corruption in athletics, said:

“The fact that the IAAF was riven with corruption is beyond question following Richard Pound’s devastating report. 

“Pound states that this cannot be blamed on a handful of ‘renegades’ and that at least some IAAF Council members could not have been ‘unaware’ of what was happening.  At the same time Pound says that he believes that Seb Coe would have acted if he was aware of corruption.  It’s clear that Pound believes that Seb Coe represents the best chance of bringing about the much-needed reform of the IAAF. 

“If Seb Coe is going to achieve much-needed reform, he must convince the public that he really means to bring about change and that will not revert to the old bad ways once the spotlight is turned off.

“The reputation of a much-loved sport hangs in the balance. Clean athletes and the public need to have far more confidence that the competition they are seeing is genuine, and that the IAAF is taking all possible measures to root out corruption in the sport of Athletics.”