The Jockey Club has announced that the UK horse racing industry is to be regulated by a new independent body.

This move follows revelations of corruption broadcast in Panorama's, The Corruption of Racing, and the Kenyon Confronts', Horses for courses? programmes in 2002.

The plan could come into effect as early as 2004 and aims to bring wider accountability to the role of the regulator.

Following the The Corruption of Racing broadcast, the Jockey Club security director Jeremy Phipps resigned.

The morning press of Wednesday, 12 February, 2003 was in general agreement that it was the Panorama programme in particular that exposed the club's failings.

The proposals do not amount to a clean break with the widely discredited set-up run by the Jockey Club Panorama and Kenyon Confronts

The Jockey club told BBC Sport Online: "In proposing this change, we believe we are acting responsibly towards racing's participants, race goers and the general public.

"There was a meeting between the Jockey Club and the Minister of Sport in October, which provided us with an opportunity to speed up a process which was already under way."

But the editor of Panorama, Mike Robinson, and the executive producer of Kenyon Confronts, Paul Woolwich, claimed that Tuesday's historic announcement did not signal a "clean break" from Jockey Club rule.

They issued a joint statement which echoed other reactions from within the industry.

"These moves in the direction of independent regulation have clearly been prompted by the scrutiny under which racing and the Jockey Club were placed by Panorama and Kenyon Confronts.

"Clearly the proposals do not amount to a clean break with the widely discredited set-up run by the Jockey Club.

New controls for racing may come in 2004

"Whether they (the proposals) will succeed in bringing about a truly independent regulator with sufficient powers to bring about the effective regulation of racing remains to be seen.

"In the meantime, the racing public is still not protected by any fully independent regulation of the sport, and the business of racing."

Stuart Brodkin of the Daily Express wrote: "More recently, two controversial stewards' decisions have rocked punters".

He described two racing incidents where decisions were overruled by the Jockey Club and the punters "lost out".

The Racing Post reported: "British Horseracing Board member Rhydian Morgan-Jones led the critic's by accusing the Jockey Club of 'institutional incompetence' and argued that it was no longer appropriate for a group of '200 self-elected rich toffs' to guard the sport's integrity".

A spokesman for Sports Minister, Richard Caborn told the Racing Post: "The Government welcomes this move by the Jockey Club to modernise the regulation of racing, making it more independent.

The transcript of Phipps' comments have proven to be most damaging to the reputation of the Jockey Club.

But Jockey Club executive director Christopher Foster said, before the the broadcast, that he considered them to be 'just a bit of fluff'.

Panorama: The Corruption of racing was broadcast on BBC One on Sunday, 6 October, 2002 at 2215 BST