UKA facing Sport England probe

The Government and Lottery distributor Sport England have still not paid UK Athletics (UKA) half of a special £41m funding package because officials are not happy that the body are being modernised quickly enough.

Ministers and Sport England, who granted the money as a legacy payment for the Picketts Lock fiasco when London was forced to pull out of hosting the 2005 World Athletics Championships, are now putting a squeeze on UKA and their chief executive Dave Moorcroft.

Standard Sport has learned that Sport England chief Roger Draper is undertaking a unique scrutiny of UKA at their Birmingham headquarters today when he will "shadow" Moorcroft in his work for 48 hours.

Draper will follow the former 5,000 metres runner through all of his duties, including a UKA board meeting. The former rugby league international, who has built a reputation as a dynamic manager, will also hold talks with new performance director Dave Collins.

It is the first time that Sport England have delved so deeply into the day-to-day running of a governing body. But it signals the start of a new, tougher policy and more "shadowing" and "job swaps" between key personnel from Sport England and governing bodies are set to follow.