Athletics in Britain was plunged into turmoil only five months before the Tokyo Olympics yesterday when UK Sport launched an independent review into the sport’s crisis-hit governing body. The review could lead to a cut in funding for British athletes. UK Sport, which distributes National Lottery funding to Olympic sports, said that the independent review would establish whether UK Athletics (UKA) was “fit for the future”, specifying concerns about “strategy, leadership, governance, operation and culture”. The dramatic intervention by UK Sport raises the possibility of significant upheaval among senior staff.