The UK government has been accused of a U-turn after accepting Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete at the 2024 Olympics.
Last year, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said athletes “funded by their states” or “who are in receipt of funding or sponsorship directly aligned to their states” cannot be considered neutral in the context of the invasion of Ukraine.
Britain is part of a coalition of like-minded countries which had called for a ban on such athletes due to this funding.
But the government has now confirmed it agrees with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete under a neutral banner at the upcoming Paris Games.
Ms Frazer said on Friday those athletes will be taking part under the “strictest neutrality conditions possible”.
After the position was revealed by The Times earlier this month, there were accusations of a government U-turn on the issue.
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Richard Caborn, who was sports minister between 2001 and 2007, said: “This is a humiliating U-turn by Frazer after her forceful speech one year ago to the Council of Europe setting out why Britain should support the total ban of Russian athletes participating in the Paris Olympics.”
The government has rejected the suggestion that it changed course following an IOC threat to prevent the UK from hosting Olympic qualifying events.
Ms Frazer said on Friday that she and sports minister Stuart Andrew are “personally committed to supporting Ukraine in the face of Putin’s illegal invasion”.
They said it was for each sporting body, like the IOC, to make their own determinations.
Ms Frazer added: “But our position is clear. Putin’s regime does not deserve to see its athletes line up on the starting blocks of races or stand on podiums during medal ceremonies as representatives of their countries.
“This has never been about punishing individual Russian or Belarusian athletes.
“What we stand against is athletes competing representing the states of Russia and Belarus.
“We continue to vigorously oppose Russian and Belarusian state participation. Our policy has never been a complete and total ban on neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus participating at all.”
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Inside Paris 2024 preparations
The minister pointed out Russians and Belarusians have been able to compete as neutrals in UK tennis competitions.
She insisted the efforts of the government and coalition have been focused on urging Olympic organisers to “change their approach, apply the strictest neutrality conditions possible and ensure they are implemented rigorously”.
“After two years of concerted lobbying, they have done that. And the result is that the number of athletes from Russia and Belarus expected to participate in the Olympics is in the tens, not hundreds.
“As a result, we have written to the IOC and International Paralympic Committee noting that their final neutrality rules for Paris achieve the widely accepted baseline of ensuring that Russia and Belarus are not represented as states in international sport.”
The IOC expects as many as 54 Russian athletes to compete in Paris.
They will not be able to compete in team disciplines, cannot compete in Russian colours or under the Russian flag and medals will not be included together in a table.
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The IOC is leaving it up to the individual sports to make decisions on whether to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete even as neutrals – World Athletics, for instance, has imposed an outright ban.
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Ex-finance secretary Kate Forbes had been tipped to join him, but has since announced she does not intend to stand and will throw her support behind Mr Swinney.
Who is John Swinney?
Edinburgh-born Mr Swinney has spent a year on the backbenches after he stepped down as deputy first minister when Nicola Sturgeon resigned in 2023.
The 60-year-old first joined the SNP in 1979 at the age of 15. He became a prominent figure in the party’s youth wing before climbing the ranks to become the SNP’s national secretary at the age of 22.
Mr Swinney has been an MSP since the Scottish parliament’s inception in 1999, serving North Tayside, and previously representing the same constituency at Westminster in 1997.
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The Perthshire North MSP, who was also finance secretary under Alex Salmond’s government, is said by his supporters to have the experience needed to lead the country following Mr Yousaf’s departure.
He took over from Mr Salmond as SNP leader in 2000, but resigned in 2004 following poor European parliament election results.
Under Ms Sturgeon, he occupied several ministerial offices, including education secretary, COVID-19 recovery secretary and again in finance – taking over from Kate Forbes during her maternity leave.
During his time as Ms Sturgeon’s deputy, he cemented his reputation as a dogged defender of his boss, as well as an SNP stalwart.
However, he faced two close no-confidence votes in Holyrood, first over the handling of school exams during the pandemic, and then his initial refusal to publish legal advice during the inquiry into the botched handling of harassment complaints against Mr Salmond.
He ruled himself out of the 2023 leadership race to replace Ms Sturgeon, citing that he had to put his young family first.
Within hours of Mr Yousaf’s resignation, several senior figures within the SNP voiced their support for Mr Swinney, including the party’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, education secretary Jenny Gilruth, and MPs Pete Wishart, Ian Blackford and Alyn Smith.
Announcing his intention to enter the SNP leadership race, Mr Swinney admitted that his party is “not as cohesive as it needs to be” to achieve its goal of Scottish independence.
He added: “I believe I have the experience, the skills, and I command the trust and the confidence of people across this country to bring the SNP back together again and get us focused on what we do best – uniting Scotland, delivering for the people and working to create the best future for our country.”
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John Swinney announcing his leadership bid. Pic: PA
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If elected, Mr Swinney said he wants Ms Forbes to “play a significant part” in his government.
He said: “She is an intelligent, creative, thoughtful person who has much to contribute to our national life. And if elected, I will make sure that Kate is able to make that contribution.”
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