Colin Moynihan

2012 drug bill

Chairman of the British Olympic Association (BOA), Colin Moynihan, has proposed a new bill in the House of Lords that would allow police to raid the Athletes' Village at London 2012 to search for performance enhancing drugs and potentially criminalise competitors caught with banned substances.

Moynihan, formerly a Sports Minister in Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet, claimed the new bill was a necessary weapon to clamp down on drugs suppliers and cheats in the build up to London 2012. He said it would bring Britain into line with other countries that already have the legislation on their statute books.

"[It] would mean that if someone was blood doping at the Olympic Village in 2012, [the police] would have the right under law to search the premises under a warrant,” he explained. “If athletes know that could happen, we are going to deter people from cheating and doing themselves harm. At the moment, police do not have the ability to search unless it is for prohibited substances, like heroin, and not performance-enhancing drugs,” Moynihan added.

The proposed bill would extend the remit, encompassing everything on the WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency] list.

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