Sport’s fallen idols

Sir roger Bannister, the first man to break the four-minute mile, embodied everything noble about British sporting endeavour.

Honourable, modest – and motivated solely by the challenge of pushing himself to the limit – he inspired generations of young athletes.

So how bitterly poignant that on the day after Bannister’s death, a more modern sporting idol stands disgraced.

This paper takes no pleasure in the public shaming of cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins, as an official report vindicates our campaign to expose his abuse of performanceenhancing drugs.

We will only observe, as we mourn the passing of a true sportsman, how sad it is to be reminded of how low so many of today’s heroes have sunk. WiTH defence pared to the bone, former Armed Forces minister Sir Mike Penning asks a pertinent question. Why, he wonders, are we diverting warships from defending us to the job of rescuing migrants from the Mediterranean? isn’t there enough cash in our bloated foreign aid budget to lease far more suitable vessels? What happened to joined-up government?