Doctor boosts Varnish case

Jess Varnish’s employment case against British Cycling and UK Sport received a boost yesterday when the judge agreed to accept Dr Richard Freeman’s written witness statement.

The former British Cycling and Team Sky doctor was one of three witnesses Varnish had hoped would appear at the employment tribunal in Manchester on her behalf but he failed to show up on Wednesday, placing question marks over the admissibility of his evidence.

However, Judge Ross dismissed protests by the barrister for British Cycling and said she would accept Dr Freeman’s statement, although giving it “very little weight” in her deliberations.

Dr Freeman’s evidence supports Varnish’s view that riders do as they are told at British Cycling, in the same way that employees do at companies elsewhere.

“The control by the coaches over the athletes was complete – cycling is a coach-led sport,” wrote Dr Freeman. “The coach would decide everything. The athletes were very firmly controlled.” In his statement, he claimed that “non-compliance was not acceptable” as only the coaches decided who would stay on the programme or not.

Varnish, who was dropped from the Olympic programme in March 2016, has to persuade Judge Ross that she was effectively employed by British Cycling and the funding agency UK Sport before she can sue British Cycling for wrongful dismissal, sex discrimination and detriment to a whistle-blower.

The case continues today and a verdict is expected on Monday.