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Dr Richard Freeman medical tribunal risks being postponed to 2020 after more legal delays

Dr Richard Freeman is accused, among other things, of ordering a batch of testosterone to British Cycling’s Manchester headquarters in 2011  - PA
Dr Richard Freeman is accused, among other things, of ordering a batch of testosterone to British Cycling’s Manchester headquarters in 2011 - PA

There is a growing risk that Dr Richard Freeman’s medical tribunal may not be completed in the allotted window before Christmas, raising the prospect of another lengthy delay in proceedings, potentially until well into 2020.

The former Team Sky and British Cycling medic stands accused, among other things, of ordering a batch of testosterone to British Cycling’s Manchester headquarters in 2011 knowing or believing that it was intended for an athlete.

The hearing was originally scheduled for March but was rescheduled due to legal wrangling.

Freeman, who admits 18 of the 22 charges against him, denies the central charge. He alleges that he was bullied by the former Team Sky and British Cycling head coach Shane Sutton of ordering 30 sachets of Testogel to treat Sutton’s erectile dysfunction. 

Sutton insists he does not suffer from that condition. The Australian stormed out of the hearing in Manchester midway through giving evidence last month.

The three-person panel has spent the last week considering whether Sutton’s evidence should be considered admissible, as well as whether to include a portion of an interview Freeman gave to the BBC last year.

After days of delays, the panel was due to hand down its verdict at 1pm on Thursday, only to announce at 12.50pm that it needed until 9.30am on Friday morning.

Shane Sutton - Credit: PA
Dr Freeman has said that he was forced to buy the testosterone by Shane Sutton, pictured, to treat Sutton's erectile dysfunction Credit: PA

Assuming it sticks to that, Freeman's lawyer Mary O’Rourke will then give her ‘half-time submission’ in which she will argue that the remaining charges against her client be dropped due to lack of evidence.

The GMC’s lawyers will respond to that submission - most likely early next week - and the panel will then retire again to consider the submissions. Only after that might we hear from Freeman himself.

Freeman, though, is unlikely to start giving evidence unless the panel is reasonably confident he can complete it before the allotted window for this hearing expires on December 20.

That will not be easy. Due to mental health issues, Freeman is being treated as a vulnerable witness. It has already been agreed that he can only give evidence in short bursts, so as not to overburden him.

The tribunal would not want Freeman to go part-heard as he would then be ‘in purdah’, under oath and unable to speak to anyone about the hearing until the tribunal can reconvene.

And that is unlikely to be for many months with both legal teams and the tribunal members busy with other matters in the new year.

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