Lancaster was appointed by Annamarie Phelps, the chair of the independent review, along with London 2012 hockey bronze medallist Annie Panter and barrister John Mehrzad.

The review has been jointly commissioned by UK Sport and British Cycling, following allegations of made by sprinter Jess Varnish and six-time Paralympic champion Darren Kenny that Shane Sutton had made derogatory comments.

Sutton, who has since resigned as technical director of the National Federation and has been replaced by Andy Harrison, has denied the claims.

The review, led by British Rowing chair Phelps, will look to include any lessons that the National Federation could learn and must investigate claims of all forms of discrimination and bullying.

Specifically, the review will seek to uncover whether there are “fundamental behavioural issues within the climate and culture of British Cycling's World Class Programme” and make recommendations on how they should be addressed, if issues are discovered.

Lancaster acted as the England head coach and head of international rugby department from 2011 until he left his post in 2015, following his team’s exit at the group stage of the Rugby World Cup.

He will form part of the panel, which has been aimed at using a range of professional skills and experience of high performance sport, including a former athlete.

Mehrzad specialises in sports, employment and commercial law and acts as an independent chairman of the English Football Association chairman's Anti-Discrimination Panel.

He was also an advocate to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympian Panter has also joined the panel, with the former hockey player currently serving on the UK Sport Mission 2016 Panel as an independent athlete member and as co-chair of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Athletes’ Committee.

“This expert panel has the range of skills and experience to enable us to conduct a thorough and robust review,” said Phelps.

“The panel will work swiftly and diligently to assess the evidence and compile a report in the interest of the sport.

“I would encourage anyone still considering making a submission to do so, in complete confidence, to Sport Resolutions UK.”

A final panel member is still set to be confirmed, with the members due to be supported in their work by a commissioning board comprising of Marian Lauder, non-executive director of British Cycling, and Liz Nicholl, chief executive of UK Sport.

The review will commence immediately and will draw to a close following the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympics, in an attempt to allow athletes to play a full role in the review, while not affecting their preparations for the Games.