British Olympic Association (Hansard, 18 May 1988)

§ 7. Mr. Menzies Campbell
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met the chairman of the British Olympic Association; and what subjects were discussed.

§ Mr. Moynihan
I had a private dinner with the chairman of the British Olympic Association on 19 April. I last met him formally on 13 January. We discussed my open letter of 19 November 1987 to John Smith, chairman of the Sports Council, about the future direction of our sports policies.

§ Mr. Campbell
When the Minister next meets the chairman of the British Olympic Association, will he 937 impress on him the importance of the British Olympic Association assisting the elimination of the taking of drugs—particularly anabolic steroids—by sportsmen in the United Kingdom? Does the Minister share my worry about the possible effects—[Interruption.]

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I am sorry to interrupt the hon. Member. Private friendly conversations across the Chamber do not help at Question Time.

§ Mr. Skinner
It is the Ladbroke's man.

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. It would be helpful if the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) and the hon. Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Holt) kept quiet.

§ Mr. Campbell
I shall not start again from the beginning. Does the Minister share my anxiety about the extent to which the use of such drugs appears to be prevalent? May the House take it that he is as keen as the 179 hon. Members who signed an early-day motion recently to see that the taking of such drugs is eliminated?

§ Mr. Moynihan
I share the hon. Member's anxiety about the use of anabolic steroids to enhance performance in sport. For that reason, the subject of anabolic steroids has been referred to the advisory council to consider whether the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 controls are appropriate. The BOA wholly supports the recommendations of the inquiry that I undertook with Sebastian Coe, and the Sports Council has now implemented them. The BOA is committed to testing being undertaken by independent sampling officers, to the random selection of competitors and, most important, to testing outside Olympic competition—[Interruption.]

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. It would help us all if the hon. Member for Langbaurgh would keep quiet.

§ Mr. John Carlisle
When my hon. Friend meets the chairman of the British Olympic Association, will he express to him the extreme anger of British sportsmen and sportswomen at the treatment afforded to Miss Zola Budd, who was hounded out of this country by Left-wing political extremists? Does he agree that those bigots and hypocrites have no place in sport or the Olympics? I hope he agrees that the time has come to return sport to the sportsman and not to the politician.

§ Mr. Moynihan
My hon. Friend will be aware that that is a matter not for the BOA but for the International Amateur Athletic Federation and the British Amateur Athletic Board. Having said that, my hon. Friend will be aware that there are millions of people outside the Chamber who share the strength of his opinions.

§ Mr. McCartney
Would the Minister care to express a view on the fact that amateur rugby league in this country is not being provided with the same resources as other amateur sports? Is he prepared to meet the parliamentary group to discuss the future investment in the sport at amateur level and at school and university level? Given the nature—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The question is about the Olympics, not about football.

§ Mr. McCartney
I understand that. To get to Olympic standard, the sport needs resources at amateur level and at school and university level. I would be pleased if the Minister would give some indication of his support.

§ Mr. Moynihan
The hon. Gentleman will know that I am a great fan of rugby league. There have been some outstanding performances this year at amateur level and the sport is deserving of considerable support at both local and national level. The hon. Gentleman will need to direct his comments not just to International Olympic Committee delegates and the BOA, but to other countries, if he is to achieve his aim of seeing rugby league played as an Olympic sport.

§ Mr. Hayward
Will my hon. Friend consider asking the chairman of the BOA to convey internationally the efforts of the Sports Council to put a stop to the use of drugs and convince other countries, for example, the United States, which is a major offender in sports in terms of taking drugs?

§ Mr. Moynihan
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is not just a national but an international problem. It is for that reason that I have had meetings with the president of the IOC, Juan Samaranch, as well as the president of the IAAF. We had a major breakthrough during bilateral discussions with the German Democratic Republic, when we reached an agreement over the exchange of personnel and further developments in this area, which we hope will come to fruition in the not too distant future.

§ Mr. Denis Howell
As the IOC and representatives of every one of the 26 Olympic sports long ago decided that no one connected with South African sport should be involved in the Olympic movement and that the spirit of that undertaking should be observed by international athletes, does the Minister not think that his remarks a few moments ago were wholly out of place and outwith the interests of British sport?
As the Minister is meeting the chairman of the IOC about his letter to John Smith, why has he not yet met formally either the chairman or any other member of the executive of the Central Council of Physical Recreation—which comprises the governing bodies of British sport—which he did not see fit to invite to address his conference on Monday, although there were 18 speakers? Does he realise that he can make progress with British sport only if he respects the voluntary and democratically elected nature of British governing bodies of sport?

§ Mr. Moynihan
If the CCPR was that keenly interested in the conference, one would have thought that the two invitations sent to it would have been accepted for the whole day. Only one person turned up, and he left at lunchtime.
As for my comments to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton, North (Mr. Carlisle), I should say that the Government are totally committed to the Gleneagles agreement and remain so. The answer that I gave my hon. Friend, which can be read in tomorrow's Hansard, was that there can be no doubt that millions of people outside the House share the strength of the sentiments expressed by my hon. Friend.

§ Mr. Harry Greenway
Does my hon. Friend agree that politics could be the death knell of the Olympics and all sports? Is it not high time that politics was taken out of sport in all lands, altogether?

§ Mr. Moynihan
In an ideal world nobody would disagree with my hon. Friend. However, I regret to say that there are too many people who use the sporting 939 playing fields and arenas to focus their political attentions. That is to the detriment of sport and, therefore, the thrust of what my hon. Friend has said meets with complete agreement from me.