In a release, Gymnasts for Change claimed the figure of 390 submissions of abuse or unsafe practice noted by the interim report "confirms the scale of the problem in gymnastics and comes as a surprise to nobody involved in the sport in Britain".

They added: "The huge numbers speak for themselves.

"Submissions to the review cover over 90 clubs and 100 coaches from all four home nations, reaffirming the decision of 17 gymnasts to take legal steps to hold British Gymnastics to account and force real change at all levels in the sport.

"Going back to 2008, British Gymnastics have had thousands of reports regarding safeguarding and athlete welfare but only decided to take action in 2020 after media pressure from gymnasts forced their hand.

"We are saddened to learn of the scale of the negligence that has taken place over the past 12 years, which represents so many missed opportunities for athletes to have been protected.

"We’re also firmly of the view that the Whyte Review in no way takes full account of the true scale of the issues which date back over 40 years."

The governing body has faced criticism over its handling of bullying and abuse allegations made by British gymnasts last year, sparked by the release of Netflix documentary Athlete A, which detailed the USA Gymnastics sexual abuse scandal.

UK Sport and Sport England subsequently co-commissioned an independent review into British Gymnastics to investigate the period from August 2008 to August 2020, while chief executive Jane Allen retired from her 10-year reign at the head of the embattled organisation in January.

The review, led by barrister Anne Whyte, is investigating the nature and volume of complaints received by British Gymnastics, including allegations of mistreatment, sexual, mental and physical abuse, bullying, harassment and discrimination.

The approach taken by British Gymnastics to resolving complaints, reasons for any delay in complaints being raised and the adoption and application of safeguarding and complaints procedures is also being investigated.

Section 17 of Whyte’s interim report, which says it has received 390 submissions up to date, reads: "The large volume of submissions that we received in the Call for Evidence reflects the scale and scope of the issues that I have identified within them.

"I have received information relating to coaching dynamics, common practices and concerns in the sport, training regimes, coach engagement with parents of gymnasts, safeguarding practices, complaints handling, and information regarding the culture across clubs.

"Concerns have been raised about the practices and culture at clubs throughout England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

"Over 90 clubs and 100 coaches have been identified in submissions.

"Whilst many issues raised are at the elite level of the sport, this is not exclusively the case.

"Some of the re-occurring issues emerging from the information I have received are of bullying, belittling, extreme weight management, regular over-stretching, use of excessive physical force, training on serious injuries, gas-lighting, coercive control and a reluctance to raise complaints/lack of opportunity to do so. In a significant number of cases, the individual sharing their experiences with the Review continues to be impacted by their experiences in gymnastics, in some cases many years later."

Section 27 adds: "Many individuals request that the referral be made anonymously with the primary reason provided that they remain involved in gymnastics and fear repercussions.

"To date, the Review has made 39 referrals to the statutory authorities.

"This has involved engagement with 27 Local Authority Designated Officers throughout the country which has required significant resource."

Whyte says the review wishes to complete most of the interviews with individuals who have made submissions by the middle of this month.

Approaches to employees or officials associated with British Gymnastics and other associated organisations are not expected to be made before April.

"Once that process is complete” Whye says, "it will be necessary, to consider what, if any, further steps are required to ensure that anyone likely to be the subject of criticism in the report has had a fair and appropriate opportunity to comment upon such criticism."

Sport England and UK Sport have acknowledged the interim report and said they will await the full report before making further comment.

"We’d like to thank the Review team for their work to date," a release said.

"And we recognise the courage of the gymnasts, parents, coaches and others from across the gymnastics community who have come forward to share their experiences with the Review."