BARONESS TANNI GREY-THOMPSON found herself at the heart of a political controversy this week after she was overlooked for the top job at Sport England.

Despite having been heavily touted for the role, Baroness Grey-Thompson, who is based in Redcar and boasts 11 Paralympic gold medals, was controversially ignored, with Nick Bitel, the head of the London Marathon, being appointed to the role of chief executive.

A number of reports claim Sports Minister Hugh Robertson offered Baroness Grey-Thompson the role, only for his decision to be overruled within Whitehall.

And senior Labour politicians have claimed the U-turn was politically motivated as Baroness Grey-Thompson has been an outspoken critic of the coalition government's cuts to disability benefits.

Prime Minister David Cameron was questioned on the controversy in the House of Commons, and claimed the decision was a matter for the Secretary of State.

However, having worked with Baroness Grey-Thompson in the build-up to last summer's Olympic and Paralympic Games and witnessed her passion for sport at first hand, The Insider cannot help feeling that party politics has played a part in the best-qualified candidate being prevented from taking up an extremely important post in Britain's sporting infrastructure.

*

MO Farah's appearance at the European Athletics Team Championships is a major coup for both UK Athletics and the organisers of the two-day event at Gateshead International Stadium.

The Insider understands that the groundwork to this week's announcement began in the immediate aftermath of Farah's double success at last year's Olympic Games.

The 5,000m and 10,000m champion was always going to be the biggest possible draw, and with June's Team Championships marking the first major international athletics event to be held in the UK since the Olympic and Paralympic Games, it was felt that Farah's presence would be crucial to the event's success.

It is understood that while Farah always indicated a desire to compete, there was a chance his US-based training programme might have prevented him from travelling to the North-East.

However, the persistence of UK Athletics officials has been rewarded, and the region's athletics will have the chance to watch one of the greatest British athletes of all time at first hand this summer.

*

NISSAN is a company with strong North-East links, and the Japanese car manufacturer, which employs more than 6,000 people at its Sunderland plant, has been announced as the British Olympic Association's official car partner for both the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Lord Coe, the chairman of the BOA, said: “I am delighted that Nissan, a company that is recognised globally for excellence and performance, is partnering with Team GB on the Road to Sochi and Rio. Nissan has invested heavily in British industry and now it is backing Britain in the greatest sporting arena in the world.”

*

BBC TEES has signed a new deal with Middlesbrough that will see the station continue to provide live coverage of the club's matches.

BBC Tees acting station editor Dan Thorpe has confirmed the new agreement will see the Boro-based channel providing commentary for the next three years.

*

EUROPE'S leading golf mind coach, Karl Morris, is speaking at Matfen Hall on Tuesday (7-9pm).

He will explain the techniques he has used with four Major winners – Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel – plus world number 12 Lee Westwood.