A DEBATE at Westminster is to be held on the international shot-putter from Basingstoke who has been banned for life from competition because of a doping slur.

Basingstoke MP Andrew Hunter has had the case of Paul Edwards accepted for a half-hour adjournment debate in the House of Commons on Thursday.

Mr Hunter said he would have the chance to speak for 15 minutes on what is tabled as: "UK Sport's role in the testing of performance-enhancing substances and the case of Mr Paul Edwards." A Government minister will then reply.

Mr Hunter said: "The ranks of officialdom have closed and they are very reluctant to accept responsibility. This is the only way you really get Government ministers to commit themselves."

Mr Edwards told The Gazette he was happy with the development. He said: "It's certainly a step forward."

Last week, The Gazette was told by a spokesman that the Minister for Sport - Richard Caborn - was not prepared to intervene in Mr Edwards' case.

A spokesman said: "UK Sport are the people that deal with these things on behalf of the Government."

Attempts by The Gazette to speak to Michele Verroken, the head of anti-doping at UK Sport, have so far proved unsuccessful.

Mr Edwards, 43, won bronze at the 1990 Commonwealth Games and represented Great Britain 46 times. It was last Monday that The Gazette revealed how Mr Hunter is backing him in his battle against a 1997 urine test that allegedly indicated he had been illegally boosting his testosterone levels. Mr Edwards also lost an appeal hearing against the ban in 2000.

A former full-time athlete, Mr Edwards, from Woolford Way, Winklebury, now works at Heath-row Airport, loading aircraft.

Mr Hunter is seeking to have the case re-opened because he agrees with Mr Edwards and his supporters that there were serious failings in the testing procedure and subsequent hearings.