Lane's departure following ten years in charge came shortly after Deloitte, the largest private professional services organisation in the world, conducted an independent audit of ParalympicsGB.

But Lane and the ParalympicsGB Board have signed an agreement not to comment further on the situation as the hunt for a new chief executive steps up.

insideworldparasport understands that the new chief executive should be in place by August but the organisation claim they will not be rushed in their efforts to recruit the right person for the job on a long term basis, even though the Paralympics in London are only 18 months away.

Details on the steps to recruit the new chief executive are set to be announced by ParalympicsGB in the coming weeks.

Under Lane, who was Britain's Chef de Mission at the last four Paralympic Games, the team secured second-placed finishes in the medal tables at both Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 while disability sport in the UK has seen unprecedented growth and profile.

Baroness Sue Campbell, the chair of UK Sport, led the tribues.

"We recognise the contribution that Phil has made to Paralympic sport over the past ten years and wish him well as he seeks new challenges in his career," said Campbell.

"Our relationship with the British Paralympic Association is a vital one.

"We are already working closely together across many key areas and look forward to engaging with both the existing executive team and any new appointments both in the build up to 2012 and beyond."

Charlie Bethel, the chief executive of the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association, also praised Lane’s contribution to Paralympic sport over the last ten years.

"Under Phil, ParalympicsGB and Paralympic sport in Great Britain has grown enormously and he must be given a huge amount of credit for that," Bethel told insideworldparasport.

"I wish him well in his future endeavours but now it the time to look forward and it is certainly a very exciting time for ParalympicsGB and the Paralympic Sport Movement with the new chief executive set to lead the organisation through to London 2012 and beyond.

"There really is a great opportunity here for the new ParalympicsGB chief executive to take Paralympic sport to a whole new level."

London 2012 also acknowledged the work done by Lane.

"We have worked very closely with Phil and his team over the last five years and we wish him all the very best," a spokesperson said.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
February 2011: ParalympicsGB chief executive quit shock