The IAAF’s ethics committee is to investigate the bidding for the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships after accusations of possible corruption, the head of the sport in Britain told a parliamentary committee yesterday.

The 2017 event will be held in London and the 2019 in Doha, which lost out to London for the 2017 event.

UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner was appearing before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee as part of its wider investigation into blood doping in sport.

The doping scandal involving Russian athletes came to light in a report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Former IAAF head Lamine Diack, who stepped down as president last August, faces criminal corruption charges in France over allegations he extorted money from athletes to cover up the issue.

Warner told the committee yesterday: “I have had a number of discussions with the IAAF and they have told me the 2017 and 2019 championship bids by Doha have been referred to their ethics commission.”

He declined to identify who had told him, saying it would be inappropriate to do so before speaking to the ethics commission.