Chambers urged to reveal more about doping abuse

(GETTY IMAGES)

Dwain Chambers has been challenged once again to come clean about the background to the doping abuse that earned him a two-year suspension and a life ban from the Olympics.

Chambers, who is considering whether or not to contest his Olympic ban in the High Court, was called upon yesterday by John Scott, the director of drug-free sport at UK Sport, to offer more information.

Speaking on the day UK Sport revealed its plans to carry out more than 1,500 drug tests in the run-up to this summer's Beijing Games, at an extra cost of £1m, Scott said "feelers" had already been extended to Chambers, but that there had been "no response".

Scott said: "Contrition is good but we want more than that, particularly if someone has been convicted of as serious a doping offence as Dwain. We don't know who was also in the know. We don't know if there are people he worked with who are still in the system."

Scott contrasted Chambers' case with that of the England footballer Rio Ferdinand, who served an eight-month ban in 2004 for avoiding a doping test.

"I don't think there is any comparison in the two cases," he said. "I think it's very interesting reading the comments Rio has made about it. He's putting great store on the lessons he's learnt, and if he is able to communicate to younger footballers the importance of those lessons to them that could be quite helpful."

Scott also acknowledged the difficulties facing the hosts of this summer's Olympics in controlling the manufacture and spread of steroids in their country.

"We have a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese government and one of the areas we do cooperate in is anti-doping," he said. "They do make the point that it is a very big country, and I think we misjudge the nation when we assume it is centrally controlled. There are clearly renegade parts of it as there are in other countries."

Scott confirmed that the new independent organisation to supervise anti-doping cases was planned to be in place by spring next year, giving it time to be fully operational for the 2012 London Olympics.