SCIENTIST'S KNIFE TRICK LEAVES TESTING IN CHAOS

A SCIENTIST has caused meltdown in the credibility of drugs testing
with just a kettle of boiling water and a small knife.

He has so drastically damaged the authenticity of the system that
sports federations worldwide could be left facing huge claims for
compensation from athletes whose careers have been shattered.

Dr David Brown, a physical chemist, believes he has proved what
athletes have long claimed - that the security packs in which their
urine samples are transported to laboratories for testing can be
opened and resealed without detection.

Last night a spokesman for Versapak, the British company which made
the security containers, admitted to Sportsmail that one of its
products used until the middle of last year could be opened 'given the
right tools and the window of opportunity'.

The implications are enormous.

Paul Edwards, the British Olympic shot-putter banned for life, wants
to present his findings to a new hearing of his case which his
solicitor yesterday began negotiating with UK Athletics, the sport's
new governing body.

The news was greeted with jubilation by Peter Lennon, the lawyer of
Ireland's triple Olympic swimming champion Michelle de Bruin, who was
banned for four years for allegedly tampering with a sample.

Edwards and de Bruin are challenging their bans but others whose
appeals have been thrown out may claim compensation for lost earnings
and damage to reputation.

The case of Scottish sprinter Dougie Walker, who has failed a drug
test but has not been suspended pending a hearing, is different
because the UK Sports Council has since switched to a different product.

Urine samples given by Edwards and de Bruin were both transported in
containers manufactured by Versapak using the model now alleged to be
flawed.

Both claim that because the so-called 'chain of custody' documents
detailing who was in charge of the container are incomplete, a window
of opportunity for tampering was present.

Dr Brown, who was an official at Edwards' first club, said that when
he realised that the caps on the containers were made of high-density
polyethylene of the sort used in washing-up bowls he realised the
potential insecurity. 'It didn't take much time at all,' he said.
'With the minimum of practise and the most rudimentary equipment I
opened a security seal and resealed it without anybody being able to
detect it.' Edwards' solicitor, Dennis Cooper, was shown how it was
done in his office using his secretary's electric kettle, a piece of
string with which to suspend the container in water and a small knife
to raise the lid.

The whole exercise took only three minutes and a video of the
procedure has been made to use as evidence. Dr Brown said: 'It pops
off because it has expanded with the heat without interfering with the
ring pulls which are the security device.' He claimed that a secondary
security device inside the container which should change in
composition if it comes into contact with water or steam failed to
detect the intrusion.