British Cycling failed to act on team behaviour concerns despite being warned four years ago
New details of how allegations of bullying at British Cycling were all but ignored despite being made more than four years ago can now be revealed by ITV News.
We have obtained a document written by the sport’s boss at the time, Ian Drake, summarising a report commissioned by him in 2012, which completely omits any mention of behavioural issues within the team that had been mentioned in the report.
The post London Olympics review into British Cycling’s World Class Programme was carried out by Peter King, Drake’s predecessor, and although it has never been published, is known to include claims of bullying.
In an email to Liz Nicholl, the CEO at UK Sport, which funds British Cycling’s elite programme to the tune of tens of millions of pounds, Drake reduced King’s detailed 15-page investigation into a series of bullet points covering less than one page. Nowhere in it does he allude to a culture of inappropriate conduct by any of his staff.
However, in a new twist to the controversy ITV News can also reveal Drake did brief a performance director at UK Sport before sending the email.
In confidential notes written following that briefing 8 areas of weakness at British Cycling are identified.
Very low down on the list is “Behaviours – teams / individuals needs addressing at times.”
Despite the warning signs from Drake’s briefing, UK Sport maintains they didn’t even ask to see a full copy, until very recently.
Liz Nicholl said last month that the version of King’s report presented to her by British Cycling at the time was at best “light-touch” but given the notes sent to her about behaviour, why didn’t she investigate further?
Today she told me: "There was no indication at the time that there was anything of any significance to be investigated. We had no knowledge of the extent of the claims. It didn’t ring any alarm bells.”
She added: “It’s clear there was not full disclosure which demonstrates a lack of transparency. I don’t know why it wasn’t shared with us. Maybe it was just a poor judgement call. I have not had the opportunity to ask that question of Ian Drake.”
Nicholl is the face of UK Sport’s controversial “no compromise” policy, where money follows medals. Her organization has been accused of prioritizing podium success above all else.
ITV News understands a significant section of King’s review focused on complaints from cyclists about how they were allegedly treated. However, in Drake’s email to UK Sport, not only did he not include any details of athlete misgivings, he also recommended strongly that Performance Director Sir David Brailsford and Head Coach Shane Sutton, continue in senior roles until after the Rio Olympics.
Adding “By 2016 in theory they could all fade into the background without anyone noticing, with their legacy not only all their medals…but a staffing and coaching structure that can continue to thrive in 2020 and beyond.”Both Brailsford and Sutton have been accused of bullying in the past year and both of them have denied the claims.
Ian Drake was due to step down from his role as CEO of British Cycling next month but instead quit in October last year. He has not returned ITV News’ calls for comment.
British Cycling did not respond to specific questions from ITV News about what actions they took over the claims contained in the King report but in a statement said today: “British Cycling has acknowledged and takes very seriously previous cultural and governance failings in the World Class Programme. To that end, significant restructuring of the organisation has already taken place….”
Looking ahead, Liz Nicholl suggests UK Sport would put British Cycling under more scrutiny in the future
She said: “We have learnt lessons, maybe we won’t just accept things and maybe we will introduce requirements to share more details.
"We have had expectations that haven’t been met. It’s changed our perspective, I am disappointed that issues which should have been addressed weren’t. If they’d been addressed earlier they would not have grown as much as they did.”
British Cycling and UK Sport have yet to publish the results of a new independent review into the governing body jointly commissioned by them in the wake of allegations made against coach Shane Sutton. Allegations he’s always denied.
It is expected to be highly critical of British Cycling for allegedly putting medals ahead of athlete welfare.
It may also make very uncomfortable reading for UK Sport who will inevitably face questions about whether they turned a blind eye to what was going on because of British Cycling’s continued success, especially given that allegations of serious issues within the set-up was available to them more than 4 years ago.