IAAF under fire again over Russian doping

Sebastian Coe, IAAF's President, attends the IAAF press conference in Monaco, November 26, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

The email, which was sent in July 2013, a month before the Moscow world championships, also suggested that CSM, the sports marketing firm chaired by IAAF president Sebastian Coe (then a vice-president) could be used as part of an "unofficial PR campaign" to fend off negative stories in the British media.

It also said the IAAF could benefit from Coe's political influence in Britain to minimize the damage any revelations might cause.

Davies, who now works as Coe's chief of staff, issued a statement on Monday denying any wrong-doing.

"As Director of IAAF Communications it was one of my responsibilities to manage and promote the reputation of the IAAF," he said.

"My email to Papa Massata Diack was brain storming around media handling strategies to deal with the serious challenges we were facing around the image of the event."

"No plan was implemented following that email and there is no possibility any media strategy could ever interfere with the conduct of the anti-doping process. "

"I did not discuss these ideas with CSM and there has never been any agreement between the IAAF and CSM for any PR campaigns. CSM has never worked for the IAAF in any capacity since Sebastian Coe joined the company," Davies said.

Last week Le Monde published allegations that Lamine Diack had sought money from Russia to be used to fund a political campaign in his native Senegal. Davies denied any knowledge of such dealings, which Diack has also denied, or any other criminal wrongdoing within the organization.