Shane Sutton's explosive evidence at the medical tribunal into former British Cycling and Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman was this morning deemed admissible to the case.
Freeman’s lawyer, Mary O’Rourke QC, had been arguing behind closed doors that evidence from Sutton, a former technical director at British Cycling, should not be taken into account after he stormed out of the hearing when appearing last month as a witness for the General Medical Council.
But the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service panel ruled that both that evidence and a television interview that Freeman gave to the BBC in 2018 were both admissible, the latter because it could be deemed a “previous inconsistent statement”.
O’Rourke had previously accused Sutton of being “a liar” and “a doper”, which he denied, while the Australian likened Freeman
to “the Scarlet Pimpernel” and “a spineless drunk”. Sutton had said: “I covered
his backside while he was there. Two critical cases of ill athletes and we couldn’t get hold of him.”
O’Rourke said she was “surprised” by the panel’s ruling this morning, with the case adjourned once again.
