Richard Freeman, the doctor at the centre of the controversy over the ‘jiffy bag’ delivered to Sir Bradley Wiggins at a race back in 2011, has sensationally pulled out of his long-awaited appearance before the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee on Wednesday, citing illness.
The development comes as UK Anti-Doping, which has been investigating the package for the last five months, declined to close its inquiry. Nicole Sapstead, chief executive of UK Anti-Doping, had committed to “finalising the outcome” of the investigation in advance of Wednesday’s select committee hearing when she agreed to speak to MPs as part of their ‘Combating Doping in Sport’ inquiry.
That need for more time was partly the reason the hearing was pushed back by a week, having originally been scheduled for last Wednesday.