UK Sport demands answers in British rowing's rape scandal
UK Sport, the Olympic funding body, has made urgent contact with British Rowing following 'deeply concerning' allegations at Britain's most prestigious rowing club.
Leander Club, which supplied more than half of Team GB's rowers at the Paris Olympics, has been accused of failing to properly investigate allegations of rape and harassment.
Telegraph Sport has learnt of three separate incidents involving male rowers who allegedly raped female squad members at the esteemed Henley-based club over the past five years.
Concerns from female squad members – which were supported by more than a dozen of the men's rowing team – that sexual assault allegations were not being taken seriously are said to have been repeatedly ignored or dismissed by the Leander committee. The male rowers have denied the rape allegations.
British Rowing received around £26 million of public money at the Paris Olympic and paralympic cycle, an investment that has since been upped to more than £28 million ahead of the Los Angeles Games in 2028. UK Sport have previously instigated investigations following welfare concerns at governing bodies which include British Cycling and British Gymnastic. Following the Leander allegations, UK Sport said: 'Our thoughts are with those affected by the allegations which have recently been reported, and we take matters of integrity and safeguarding extremely seriously.
'We encourage any member of staff or athlete on Olympic and Paralympic performance programmes to report allegations of unacceptable behaviour to Sport Integrity, the confidential reporting line. In light of these deeply concerning allegations, we are in contact with British Rowing.'
In response to Telegraph Sport's investigation, Leander said: 'Leander Club takes seriously all issues relating to the safeguarding of our athletes. We have strict procedures in place to carefully examine any formal complaints and regularly review our club disciplinary processes to ensure they are fit for purpose, treating our athletes fairly and with respect.
'In addition to an updated code of conduct, we have partnered with a specialist external provider to ensure members of the club know without doubt the standards we expect and the ways to highlight any individual misconduct. When issues are raised, we will continue to take immediate action where necessary to protect the welfare of our athletes.'
A British Rowing spokesperson said: 'We are not able to comment on individual safeguarding concerns and processes conducted at clubs owing to their confidential nature.
'What we are able to say categorically is that the safety of people taking part in our sport is the very first item of importance on our agenda. We investigate anything reported to us fully and comprehensively, as you would expect and as it is our remit to do. This would have been the case if sufficient information had been raised with us to conduct an investigation in respect of the raised allegations.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
32 minutes ago
- BBC News
Livingston closing in on 'two exciting prospects'
Livingston are closing in on signing "two really exciting prospects", manager David Martindale has who has guided the West Lothian side back to the top flight, is keen to strengthen his squad but is also hoping to retain one or two who are out of season's captain Jamie Brandon is one player whose deal is set to expire, with Kilmarnock reportedly battling with Livingston to sign the full-back. "I can't tell you about [the players we are looking to sign] yet," Martindale told BBC Scotland. "But I'm looking to bring them into the building and I'm not a million miles away from that."I'm also speaking to a couple of players who are out of the contract that I'd love to keep, but they've got options elsewhere as well."It's just football, it's just a typical pre-season, you'll lose players and you'll bring players in, but it's fairly normal for me."I'd done probably two or three players before the season ended, but the club haven't announced them yet."I expect to be doing a wee bit more work in the next 48 hours, and [if we manage that] we won't be a million miles away from having a really good squad."As well as bringing new faces in, there will be a new artificial pitch laid at Livingston for the season on that starts on Monday and Martindale hopes it will take no more than three to four weeks.
The Sun
33 minutes ago
- The Sun
Genius ITV pundit hits bookies for over £1MILLION with outrageous 8,249-1 Epsom Derby bet
GENIUS ITV Racing pundit Kevin Blake helped punters hit the bookies for over £1MILLION - with his outrageous 8,249-1 tip. Race planner Blake - who a few years ago put up an 800-1 treble at Cheltenham Festival - somehow picked the first three home in the Derby. 1 With a load of the big guns failing, it was tough enough finding 13-2 winner Lambourn. But Blake tipped up the Aidan O'Brien-trained winner plus runner-up Tennessee Stud at 33-1 and third-place Lazy Griff at a monster 50-1. One odds compiler at Coral called it the greatest bet he had seen in 25 years. And the firm's David Stevens said: "It may have been the threat of considerable rainfall that sparked the support for the proven stayer Lambourn, but even without a notable downpour, the Cheshire Vase winner controlled the race from start to finish, and an SP of 13-2 confirmed that he was not without support on the biggest betting day of the Flat season. "Whilst the winner alone was not the worst result in the Derby book though, further pain was inflicted by Kevin Blake, who incredibly put up the tricast on ITV's The Opening Show, an outcome that paid a whopping £8,294.72 for £1. "Plenty of viewers followed Kevin's advice, to our considerable cost." Remember to gamble responsibly
Daily Mail
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
French demand more money from Britain before they let their police try to stop migrants boarding small boats to cross the English Channel
The French are set to ask for more money before police start intercepting migrants trying to board small boats to cross the English Channel, it was revealed today. Britain already has a deal with France to try and prevent refugees and and migrants from crossing the Channel, but until now, authorities have resisted entering the water themselves and only prevent those they catch on the shoreline. The French government has now indicated its willingness to change tactic and turn back boats in the shallows, but says it needs more money to do so. The extra funds would be spent on deploying drones and more police officers to ensure that policing of the coastline can also be maintained. Representatives from both governments are currently negotiating a new deal aimed at cracking down on smuggling gangs which is said to be in the early stages. The UK's current deal with France was due to expire next year, but Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has now agreed to extend it into 2027 as long as France builds its own long-promised detention centre. Since 2015, British governments have spent £800 million to France to stop the crossings of people across the world's busiest shipping lane in small boats. An agreement made under Rishi Sunak's premiership in 2023 pledged £480 million, but not all of that has yet been spent. So far this year, almost 15,000 people have made the highly dangerous crossing, up 42 percent on this time last year. The government has blamed better and calmer weather for the increase. French officials are now expected to push for extra funding for the Compagnie de Marche, an elite policing unit with special public order powers and that was formed specifically to tackle an increase in violence on the nation's beaches. A government source told the Times that the French may be 'pitch-rolling for more money' but that talks were in the early stages. It is understood that President Macron is currently in the process of drafting the new strategy ahead of a planned state visit to the UK next month. It comes after last Saturday saw the highest number of people arrive by small boats this year. The home secretary described the fact that 1,195 people arrived in 19 boats on one day as 'disgraceful'. On the same day, French authorities rescued 184 people from the water, with current rules meaning they can only interfere in boats at sea if people are in distress. It has led to a change of tactics by people smugglers in recent years which has seen them blow up and put dinghies into the water in the shallows, before others wade out, sometimes to chest or neck height, to be pulled onboard. The Defence Secretary John Healey said this creates a 'big problem' for policing. Last week dozens of people were seen cramming themselves onto small boats, including entire families with multiple young children. Groups gathered in the early hours of the morning to make the perilous journey across the Channel last Saturday It was the first time in a week that anyone had made the crossing, perhaps contributing to the high figure. In the seven days since, no boats have landed from France on UK shores. The crossings last Saturday came just weeks after the Prime Minister announced plans for 'return hubs' to send migrants back to the country they came to the UK from more easily. The Prime Minister is eyeing up deals with Balkan countries, and some in Africa, to house failed asylum seekers. Labour is looking to strike deals with the likes of Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security. 'The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice. 'That is why this government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage. 'Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in Northern France and tougher legislation in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we are strengthening international partnerships and boosting our ability to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal gangs whilst strengthening the security of our borders.'
