British Judo Statement

British Judo is aware of two ongoing investigations, as reported by the BBC in a recent article.

British Judo would like to assure its members that the cases referred to in the BBC article do not relate to judo in any way.

When the individuals were arrested British Judo was informed that they had a judo coaching licence and therefore British Judo carried out a risk assessment and suspended their coaching licence pending the Police investigation.

Once the Police investigation is completed, British Judo will conduct a further risk assessment and make an appropriate decision.

Due to the ongoing nature of these investigations British Judo are unable to make any further comment.

In 2020, British Judo, in association with Sport England, appointed Lime Culture to carry out an independent review of the BJA Safeguarding processes in 2019/2020.

A number of areas were looked at within the report, including the review of specific cases, and British Judo is working closely with Sport England and the Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) to implement the recommendations.

The majority have already been introduced and others are in the process of being introduced (see attached document). Sport England has told us that they are “happy with the contents and recommendations contained within the report and British Judo’s positive response.”

Safeguarding has been and remains a priority across our sport – there is always room for improvement, but we are working hard to ensure Judo is a safe environment for young people and adults at risk alike.

You can download the Recommendations from the report by clicking here

Anybody with any any safeguarding concerns past, present or future please contact the British Judo safeguarding team via safeguarding@britishjudo.org.uk