Thumbs-up for Drug-tainted Coach

British athletics was yesterday warned that it is sending out a message that drugs are acceptable after the former steroid-pedalling East German spy working with Denise Lewis was officially condoned.

Peter Radford, the former chief executive of the British Athletic Federation, said he was appalled by the decision of his successor at UK Athletics, David Moorcroft, to back a request from Lewis to give an accreditation to Dr Ekkart Arbeit for the European Cup of Combined Events in Tallinn, Estonia, next month.

Arbeit was linked with the systematic doping policy in East Germany during the 70s and 80s after a state investigator described him as an architect of the "largest pharmacological programmes in history".

Radford said: "It is implicit approval of what he did. It's a very significant move. It sends a very big signal out that the sport has given up on what is right and morally correct. You reap a whirlwind from that. The kids who are following on will draw their own conclusions and take it to the next stage. No governing body can complain in the future if it sets this precedent in the present."

Lewis, the Olympic heptathlon champion, has been working with Arbeit since last autumn after she was introduced to him by Frank Dick, Britain's former national coaching director.

"I think Denise is ill-advised," added Radford. "She is raising questions in people's minds that weren't there before."

Tallinn will be Lewis's first heptathlon since she won the Olympic title in Sydney three years ago. Max Jones, UK Athletics' performance director, said: "If we didn't give Arbeit accreditation we would put her at such a disadvantage she wouldn't be able to compete against other athletes. This went to UK board level and the agreement around the table was that because Denise had chosen Arbeit we shouldn't disadvantage her. We had personal reservations. We discussed his background and the publicity he attracts. But it was decided to treat him as a normal coach."