Sprinter Jess Varnish, who criticised coaches’ selections after missing out on a team sprint berth at this year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, first alleged that the Australian had made sexist comments towards her.

Varnish claimed that Sutton had told her she was “too old” and that she should “go and have a baby” when telling the 25-year-old that her contract was not to be renewed following the 2016 International Cycling Union (UCI) Track World Championships.

Sutton denied her allegations and stated that the decision had been made after a performance review, while British Cycling announced that an independent review would be launched into their performance programmes.

Additionally, Varnish was invited to meet the equalities officer of British Cycling to discuss her claims, with the cyclist stating she would “remain open to sharing my experiences with both British Cycling and/or UK Sport, and will happily engage with any investigations into the comments that Shane Sutton has made to me, and other riders.”

According to the Daily Mail, six-time Paralympic champion Darren Kenny has now stated that Sutton had referred to Para-cyclists in derogatory terms.

“The attitude towards them was abysmal,” Kenny said.

“We were tolerated at best.

“The term used to refer to us was generally 'gimps', with another word in front of that.

“I know others had an issue as well with not being allowed on the track and not being given time to prepare for competitions.”

As a result of Kenny’s claims, British Cycling have moved to suspended Sutton, who denies all allegations, from the post he has held since 2014.

“Following the announcement of an independent review into British Cycling’s performance programmes, we are also announcing technical director Shane Sutton has been suspended pending an internal investigation into the allegations of discrimination that have been reported in the press,” a British Cycling statement read.

Sutton joined British Cycling as a coach in back in 2002 and was part of the team which enjoyed huge success at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics, where the British team earned seven track gold medals in both Games.

He became technical director back in 2014, following the departure of Sir Dave Brailsford, who stepped down after 10-years in charge to focus on his role at Team Sky, a UCI WorldTour road team.

Sutton has been due to lead the British team into Rio 2016, having finished top of the medals table at their home Track World Championship last month, with five golds, one silver and three bronze.