A minister has ordered an urgent investigation following claims a British doctor was secretly filmed telling how he prescribed performance-enhancing drugs to sports stars.
The doctor, named by the Sunday Times as Dr Mark Bonar, claimed he treated more than 150 sportspeople with banned substances including EPO, human growth hormone and steroids, according to an investigation by the newspaper.
He allegedly said he treated footballers at Premier League clubs including Chelsea, Arsenal and Leicester City along with British Tour de France cyclists, tennis players and a British boxer.
However, there is no independent evidence the sports stars received any banned treatments and the football clubs have denied the claims.
London-based Dr Bonar, 38, denied the allegations when they were put to him by the newspaper and said he had not breached rules laid out by the General Medical Council (GMC), the body which regulates doctors.
The Omniya Clinic in London, where the doctor rented private consulting rooms to treat his private patients, said it ended his professional services agreement on Friday after learning he does not hold a current licence.
The General Medical Council (GMC) has confirmed that while Dr Bonar is registered with them, he does not have a current licence to practise medicine in the UK.
The Sunday Times reports the UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) watchdog was given information about the doctor's alleged doping activities two years ago but failed to take action to stop him.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that Dr Bonar is facing disciplinary hearings that could see him struck off for a separate allegation of providing a patient with inadequate care, the GMC said.