UK Athletics also said it supported the concept of a sports ombudsman, while the chief executive of British Rowing, Andy Parkinson, said he would endorse that or something similar.

Parkinson was the first head of UK Anti-Doping and he said there were “a lot of parallels” between the need for the creation of that body in 2009 and the growing realisation something similar was required in safeguarding.

As revealed by Telegraph Sport, almost none of the recommendations from Grey-Thompson’s 2017 report – including the creation of a sports ombudsman – were implemented, with more than one source saying UK Sport lobbied against them because it felt it could solve the athlete welfare crisis itself.

But amid calls for greater independence in the system in the wake of the gymnastics scandal, UK Sport chair Dame Katherine Grainger said its board was poised to discuss triggering an “industry-wide” look at how the sector handled integrity-related matters. Telegraph Sport can reveal that will include reviewing the outcome of a pilot launched in October that has led to specialist dispute service Sport Resolutions providing a case management service to assist NGBs in dealing with complaints and investigations fairly and independently.

Funded by Sport England, the pilot has been hailed as a game-changer by those taking part, including Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy.

Christy said the sport had banned two people as a direct consequence of the support provided by the Safeguarding Case Management Pilot Service.

Christy said the sector “desperately” needed an “independent central body” to police welfare complaints.

A government spokesperson said on Saturday night there were already “strong processes in place for athletes to raise and escalate concerns” but that these were “under constant review”.