Tuesday 22 December 2015 19:07, UK
Nick Davies has announced he will step aside from his role as the director of the IAAF's president's office while an ethics board investigates allegations of unethical behaviour against him.
French newspaper Le Monde have obtained a copy of an email sent by Davies, the IAAF's former director of communications and now right-hand man to president Lord Coe, in which he appears to seek to delay the identification of Russian drug cheats in the run-up to the 2013 World Championships in Moscow.
In the email sent to Papa Massata Diack - the son of former president Lamine Diack and who has rejected allegations of alleged extortion and bribery - Davies appears to look to minimise the impact of naming Russian athletics who have failed drug tests.
Davies has denied any wrongdoing and said in a statement: "In order to demonstrate that I am willing to have all allegations of unethical behaviour on my part in 2013 properly and fairly investigated I have referred my emails to Papa Massata Diack in 2013, my statements and the circumstances of the emails to the IAAF Ethics Board.
"I have decided to step aside from my role with the IAAF until such time as the Ethics Board is able to review the matter properly and decide if I am responsible for any breach of the IAAF Code of Ethics."
