UK SPORT chief executive Liz Nicholl has warned British Cycling its future funding is dependent on it “restoring credibility” following investigations into allegations of bullying, discrimination and doping.

Nicholl delivered the warning at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester, where she was appearing with British Cycling’s new chairman Jonathan Browning to announce the governing body’s response to claims of bullying and sexism first made by former Great Britain track rider Jess Varnish last April.

But British Cycling’s 39-step “action plan” to improve athlete and staff welfare was overtaken by events on Wednesday in London, where the boss of UK Anti-Doping Nicole Sapstead updated MPs on her agency’s five-month investigation into denied allegations of wrongdoing at British Cycling and Team Sky, its professional road racing offspring.

Among her shocking revelations, Sapstead told the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) select committee that British Cycling and Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman had failed to follow guidelines on keeping and sharing treatment records for star rider Sir Bradley Wiggins, and that the governing body had no idea if drugs in its medical store were intended for its riders or Team Sky’s.

Sapstead also said UKAD was no closer to solving the mystery at the heart of its investigation: what was in a jiffy bag hand-delivered to Freeman by a British Cycling coach at the end of the 2011 Criterium du Dauphine,.

Because no records exist to confirm if the package contained the legal but unlicensed decongestant Fluimucil or the banned and potent corticosteroid Kenalog, she said UKAD was still unsure if Freeman and Wiggins broke anti-doping rules – an allegation both deny.

British Cycling responded to Sapstead’s stinging critique of its record-keeping with a statement that admitted “serious failings” in the past and promised an external audit of its current practices.

The governing body is believed to have been in talks with the Care Quality Commission about conducting the audit, and is even considering outsourcing all of its medical needs to an independent provider.

Browning, who took over as chairman last month, said: “There’s an awful lot we need to investigate in terms of how we make sure we have a robust way of not only operating in a clean way but being able to demonstrate that.

“And that includes not only having an external review of our medical services but having the right record-keeping and making sure it’s as transparent as it can possibly be. We have to work with UKAD and the other authorities to make sure we can demonstrate that.”

Just how important that is for British Cycling, which is scheduled to receive £26 million in lottery and exchequer funding for its Tokyo 2020 preparations via UK Sport, was spelled out by Nicholl.

She said: “The actions that Jonathan has committed to last night and the actions that align with (Sports Minister Tracey Crouch’s) sports governance code will all be part of the funding agreement we have with British Cycling.”