LONDON • Shane Sutton, the former head coach of British Cycling and Team Sky, reacted with fury at a medical tribunal in Manchester on Tuesday night after being forced to defend himself against accusations of bullying, doping and being a "serial liar".

The bombshell claims from the lawyer for former Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman, Mary O'Rourke, made Sutton withdraw from the hearing in anger.

He said: "I've answered your questions, taken your bullying, and my children have taken your gutter tactics in the press.

"She (O'Rourke) has accused me, but I've looked the panel in the eye, I'm not lying. I'm going to leave the hearing now.

"I'm going to go back to my little hole in Spain, enjoy my retirement and sleep at night knowing full well I didn't order any patches."

Sutton, who resigned as British Cycling's technical director in 2016, has been accused of asking Freeman to place an order for 30 sachets of the banned substance Testogel to be sent to the Manchester velodrome in 2011.

He also allegedly bullied Freeman into ordering testosterone patches to treat his erectile dysfunction.

However, Sutton called on the latter, who has spent the hearing screened off from the public gallery for health reasons, to "come clean", saying: "The person lying to you is behind the screen.

"He's a good bloke, good friend, I've no argument with him. I'm happy with what I achieved in my career. I wish Richard Freeman all the best going forward. There is no one better bedside than him."

Freeman, who was British Cycling and Team Sky's doctor from 2009 until he resigned in 2017, is facing a charge of medical misconduct from Britain's General Medical Council over the 2011 incident.

Its case is that the testosterone was used for "micro-dosing" as a way of improving an unnamed rider's performance.

Sutton's lawyer, Simon Jackson, has, however, claimed his client is being used as a scapegoat by Freeman, a charge he has denied.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE GUARDIAN