You owe adoring public dope truth before the wheels fall off, Bradley Wiggins
Silence is not an option from a man made wealthy and famous by adoring fans
THERE is a swirl of ugly doping rumours surrounding national treasure and Olympic hero Sir Bradley Wiggins and he needs to answer them candidly and truthfully today.
And I would be grateful if he doesn’t take the easy option of appearing on BBC’s Andrew Marr Show (Mr Marr’s expertise is politics, not drugs) as he did a month ago but faces a proper inquisitor such as David Walsh, the Sunday Times journalist who nailed Lance Armstrong.
Yes, it’s that serious.
After all, one of the reasons we have so many cycling lanes is because the politicians reacted to Wiggins’ global success, including a fistful of Olympic golds and two Tour de France victories, by putting the cyclist ahead of the motorists on our roads.
Personally, I believed Wiggins when I read his biography, which assured me there were no drugs involved in his success.
But slowly the story appears to be changing. In his book he says he never had injections but, thanks to leaks from the World Anti-Doping Agency, we now know he received a drugs exemption to deal with his previously unreported asthma.
Wiggins is 6ft 3in, and in his track-racing days was 12st 8lb. But when he switched to road racing you need stamina, rather than raw speed, and his weight went down to 10st 8lb.
His nickname became Twiggo.
One aspect of the asthma drug is that it reduces weight.
The next and more serious problem for Wiggins involves a Jiffy bag brought by courier to his team doctor in the French Alps.
Nobody seems to know what was in the bag, nor do they know if Wiggins ever received its contents, although whenever questions are put to those involved the story seems to change.
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For instance, the courier, a cycling expert, didn’t know what was in it.
Since he flew from the UK to Switzerland, that would have been very dangerous if he had been stopped at customs.
Finally, it emerges for the first time that back in May Wiggins had missed a drugs test in California, as he wasn’t where he should have been.
It’s all too suspicious and the nation which gave him so much celebrity, including BBC Sports Personality of the Year, demands answers.
Wiggins owes that to the public who made him wealthy and famous.
Silence is not an option.
Now say sorry to journos
As the hapless Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe heads for the exit door, I note he has started the lengthy process of personally apologising for horrendous mistakes the Yard made in the VIP abuse investigation.
First on his list was Lord Bramall. His dementia-suffering wife went to her grave without knowing the war hero had been cleared of the allegation made by Nick the Nutter (please sue me “Nick”) that he was part of a murderous paedophile ring.
Instead of having a tear in his eye and a hankie in hand when he met Bramall, he READ the apology from a piece of paper rather than talking directly with him. Clearly it was written by lawyers.
No emotion. No sincerity. Why didn’t the Yard employ an actor? It would have felt more personal.
While he’s on the “so sorry” trail, how about apologising to the innocent Sun journalists whose lives and careers have been destroyed by the untrue allegations that they paid public officials.
Personally I am in favour of paying public officials, as how is the taxpayer supposed to find out what is happening in state-run enterprises?
Mind you Hogan-Howe, above, might need protection if he makes his way round Sun journos.
Lord Bramall was too old to punch his lights out but my colleagues have kept in training for such an event. I’ll hold their coats.
A TRUE NATIONAL TREASURE
I’M sure Andy Murray will be the acclaimed world No1 by year’s end but it’s the stuff he does off-court that makes him so special.
Just the other day he came out in support of the British Legion campaign to highlight the sportsmen who lost their lives at The Somme, plus his tennis kit often carries a tag backing the drive to wipe out malaria – he could have sold it to a commercial sponsor.
Even if it drains him physically, he will do anything and travel anywhere to promote tennis.
His mother and the nation (including Jockistan) should be very proud of him.
Mitt's a twit for club call
IT’S hard to know what brains – if any – Sir John Mitting, a High Court judge, possesses. Further, I would like to be reassured the rest of the judiciary is not as stupid as he is.
The scene is The Garrick Club in London – a watering hole for the rich and famous. Enter Tory MP Andrew Mitchell, of Plebgate fame, with his wife Sharon.
Mitting spots Mitchell. Considering he was the judge who found against him in a high-profile libel trial involving a No10 police officer which wiped him out to the tune of £2million, you would have thought he would have kept his distance.
Oh no. He cheerily calls out across the room: “I hope we aren’t on bad terms?”
Is he nuts or what? Mr Mitchell lost his political career and was left with a mountain of debt thanks to Mitting’s judgment.
What did Mitting expect the reply to be? “All’s well, thank you. They have just put a made.com sofa into the debtors’ prison cell I’m entering next Friday.”
Instead of giving him a right-hander, Mitchell remained calm and said: “You are exceedingly foolish and live in a world of Dixon of Dock Green (an old-fashioned police drama in the Sixties). And you have the nerve to hail me like this.”
Mitting is due to retire at 70, in October next year. If his judgment is as poor in the court as it proved to be at The Garrick, he should go tomorrow.
PS. I was at No10 last week and was treated with great courtesy by the police officers. I presumed it was because they knew I was a pleb.
Time to step up to the mark
Isn't it about time that the former husband of Labour’s Baroness Chakrabarti, Martyn Hopper (he’s a lawyer at the uber-expensive Linklaters), came to his wife’s aid and told the world it was HE who wanted his son to attend £18,000-a-year Dulwich College rather than local state schools?
Mind you, I happen to know the Times deputy editor sends her brood locally and raves about them.
Having seen his firm’s prices, I imagine Mr Hopper doesn’t miss the £18k.
Loyalty never pays
After years with E.on, column reader Anne-Marie Cox, from Leeds, saved £250 a year by switching to GnERGY via , while David Blower from Birmingham was shocked to see his elderly aunt paying £802 for home insurance (she’d been with Lloyds for eight years).
He looked online and got it for £200.
Send your saving stories to kelvin@ the-sun.co.uk.
WE'RE SUGAR LUMPS
IF you ever wondered why there are so many fat people around, here’s the answer: In 1850 we each consumed 19lb of sugar annually and today it’s 77lb.
So it’s no longer accurate to call them lard ar*es, they are sweet ar*es.
God knows how much sugar Kim Kardashian, right, consumes.
Punnies
SIGN on barber’s in Bristol – Absence makes the hair grow longer
Computer repair shop in St Ives, Cambs – Bits & PCs
Hairdresser’s in Bow, East London – Beau Locks
Tent hire business in Buntingford, Herts – Big In Tents
On a gardener’s van in Long Eaton, Derbys – Ever Sow
All-day breakfast café in Stourport-on- Severn, Worcs – Toast Of The Town
Tree surgeon in Putney, South West London – Take A Bough
Seafood specialist in Weymouth, Dorset – Seas The Moment
Great punnies. Do send more to [email protected]