League acts to clean up stains left by 'Bloodgate'

"I'm sure we can regain the lost ground and you learn from your mistakes and put things right in the most effective way.

"We are concerned about the situation and that is why we are taking action, but it is a very strange process that is ongoing at the moment and we will need to question ERC about this."

In a change to end another source of controversy, match squads for Premiership games will be increased to 23 to allow for an extra prop, which should help end the problem of uncontested scrums.

News of the new rules came as it emerged that Quins face the ultimate penalty of expulsion from the RFU and could still be thrown out of the Heineken Cup over "Bloodgate".

As a result of the release of Williams's testimony at his successful appeal to have his own ban reduced from a year to four months, Jeff Blackett, the RFU disciplinary officer, has said he wants to examine the new evidence.

This week's revelation that Quins executives attempted to bribe Williams to get him to drop his bid to clear his name were highly embarrassing to both the club and the sport, and if Blackett decides they constitute "conduct which was prejudicial to the interests of the game" he could ban the club from all RFU competitions.

Although that penalty is unlikely, Quins could still be hit with heavy sanctions. RFU chief executive Francis Baron said today: "We will not look at any new evidence until the ERC investigation into the appeals process has been completed."

In a separate development, Quins face a new threat of being kicked out of the Heineken Cup.

European Rugby Cup chiefs are set to re-open the case as a result of the new evidence and the organisation's chief executive Derek McGrath said: "Clearly what's happened has been very serious in terms of damage to the tournament and the game. But the board will not consider the matter until the process has been handed back by the independent disciplinary committee.''