Sir Philip Otton, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Malcolm Holmes QC have been appointed to an independent commission set up to investigate allegations made against the UCI in the wake of the Lance Armstrong scandal.

The UCI previously appointed John Coates, president of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport, to recommend the composition of the panel.

Otton, a retired judge, will chair the panel, working alongside UK House of Lords peer and 11-time Paralympic champion Tanni Grey-Thompson, and Australian lawyer Malcolm Holmes.

A hearing has been scheduled for April 9-26 in London, where the trio will investigate allegations made against the UCI during the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) investigation into Armstrong.

“Some of our critics have suggested that this commission would not be fully independent,” added McQuaid. “They were wrong. The UCI had no influence on the selection of the commission members.”

“The appointment of these three eminent figures demonstrates clearly that the UCI wants to get to the bottom of the Lance Armstrong affair and put cycling back on the right track.”

“Rather than simply attacking the UCI, our critics now have an opportunity to be part of the solution. I would ask them, therefore, to make their representation to the independent commission – and to start to put cycling first.”

Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles by USADA, whose report contained allegations that the UCI accepted a $100,000 donation from Armstrong as part of a cover-up for a positive doping test.

The UCI hopes the independent commission will restore public confidence in the organisation and help secure the future of the sport.

“As I have said previously, the commission’s report and recommendations are critical to restoring confidence in the sport of cycling and in the UCI as its governing body,” said McQuaid.

“We will co-operate fully with the commission and provide them with whatever they need to conduct their enquiry and we urge all other interested stakeholders to do the same.  We will listen to and act on the commission’s recommendations.”

He added: “The costs of the independent commission will be a significant burden on the UCI, however it is clear that only such a decisive and transparent examination of the past will answer our critics by thoroughly examining our assertion that the UCI’s anti-doping procedures are and have been among the most innovative and stringent in sport.”