A WORLD-CLASS athlete from Basingstoke is fighting to clear his name of a doping slur which has landed him with a lifetime ban from competition.

Paul Edwards, 43, a former 1990 Commonwealth Games shot-putt bronze medallist, was banned in 1997 from competing in the discipline in which he had been a full-time athlete for 10 years.

Athletics chiefs claimed doping tests found unacceptably high levels of testosterone in his urine and indicated use of steroids.

Mr Edwards, who represented Great Britain 46 times, underwent the tests in 1997. An appeal hearing against the life ban in November 2000 also went against him.

But Mr Edwards, who was once ranked fourth in the world and now loads aircraft at Heathrow for a living, told The Gazette he has been the victim of an injustice at the hands of the athletics establishment.

He said: "It's one cover-up after another. Only a fraction of the evidence has been produced which suits them. Rules have been broken and tests not done properly."

Mr Edwards, from Woolford Way, Winklebury, said his aim is to be reinstated and start competing again.

Basingstoke MP Andrew Hunter is backing Mr Edwards all the way. Last week, he tabled questions to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, asking her to put pressure on sport bodies to have the case re-examined.

The MP told The Gazette: "I have complete conviction that his ban is unsustainable. There have to be the same standards in athletics as in a court of law. It is incredible. There has been a conspiracy against Paul."

Mr Edwards and Mr Hunter have drawn up a list of points which they say show the ban cannot be fair. Among various failures, they allege that the International Olympic Com-mittee code was infringed in the course of testing because the same analyst tested the two samples given by Mr Edwards.

Mr Edwards and Mr Hunter have said that UK Athletics - the governing body for athletics - has admitted it withheld evidence from Mr Edwards about the testing process. The pair also state: - The laboratory did not produce the calibration data needed to establish the validity of the testing. - The tests were recorded as being completed in three minutes, which experts say is too quick. - Paperwork was left unfinished. - Unreliable types of container were used, opening up the possibility of contamination. - There were unaccounted-for periods in the all-important chain of custody, which could have allowed tampering.

Mr Hunter said he is dismayed that the UK Sports Council has not pressured UK Athletics into looking into the case again.

The MP added: "An appalling injustice has been perpetrated against my constituent and I am dismayed that the Sports Council has failed to bring justice.

"Part of the trouble is that among those people who should now exonerate Paul are some who played a part in securing his unsound conviction.

"In a court of law, the 'evidence' against Paul Edwards would have been dismissed as fundamentally flawed and the charges thrown out. Instead, he has been denied the opportunity to participate in international athletics for a number of years. His livelihood and career have been destroyed."

A UK Athletics spokeswoman said: "Mr Edwards has exhausted all the procedures and has been through three different appeal panel stages all of which have upheld the decision that the doping offence occurred."

A UK Sports Council spokesman said it would not comment until its director of anti-doping has returned to the country.