The embattled airports board overseeing the $6 billion Dulles Rail project announced Tuesday that it was canceling all contracts with former board members after a series of reports in The Washington Examiner about insider deals prompted an outcry among local, state and federal officials.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which has always defended the insider contracts to The Examiner, abruptly announced it was ending its long-standing practice and would consider a new ethics policy at its next meeting.