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Anti-doping in Sport

As I told the hon. Lady earlier, I have examined the case in great detail. I am trying to set out clearly what we believe to be the route that must be followed. She is right about the way in which some organisations have dealt with the issue, but I am talking about what happened in Mr. Edwards's case. It is a complex case, which has been the subject of a great deal of correspondence between the hon. Lady and her predecessor and my predecessor. The hon. Lady has referred to the scientific evidence and arguments behind the case. I am not a scientist—I do not know whether the hon. Lady is—and we have to rely on the experts who examine such cases day in, day out. My role as a Minister responsible for sport is to ensure that the correct structures, programmes and processes are in place to ensure that our athletes compete in a drug-free environment, and, when that is found not to be the case, to ensure that they have recourse to a fair appeal. Fundamental to any anti-doping programme are three key elements: robustness, consistency and fairness. In looking at Mr. Edwards's case, I am convinced that those three elements have been met. As the hon. Lady will have heard my predecessor say, it is not the role of the Minister for Sport to intervene in individual doping cases. When an athlete is found to be in violation of the anti-doping code, it is the responsibility of that athlete's national governing body and the international federation to decide what action to take, in line with the procedures set out in the world anti-doping code, and in the UK's national anti-doping policy. Again, I understand that the correct processes have been followed in this case. I have no remit to act outside of those, as has been set out in my previous correspondence. There is no mechanism by which we can become involved. In the last letter from my predecessor, dated 23 January 2007, the advice given was that the Court of Arbitration for Sport would be the final route of appeal for the hon. Lady's constituent. That advice was also given in the previous Adjournment debate in 2002. Therefore, I am a little surprised that Mr. Edwards has not taken the opportunity to go to that court.