Email claims testosterone patches sent to British Cycling "in error" - but is dated five months after delivery

The BBC has published a copy of an email from a medical supplier to former Team Sky and British Cycling employee Dr Richard Freeman regarding testosterone patches delivered to the National Cycling Centre in Manchester. The email purports to confirm that they were delivered "in error" - but is dated more than five months after they were sent.

The Testogel patches are central to a tribunal being held in Manchester next month at which a number of allegations will be made against Dr Freeman, including that they were ordered in February 2011 from supplier Fit2Sport Ltd “to administer to an athlete to improve their athletic performance.”

The email obtained by the BBC relates to one of the other allegations against Dr Freeman, which were set out in pre-hearing information published on Monday by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.

It is alleged that in October 2011, he contacted someone at Fit2Sport Limited to ask them to provide “written confirmation that the order had been sent in error, returned and would be destroyed by Fit4Sport Limited, knowing that this had not taken place, ”and that during the same month, he “showed the email to others knowing that its content was untrue.”

The patches are alleged to have been ordered by Dr Freeman on 16 May 2011, with a further allegation that two days later, he “made untrue statements, in that he denied making the order and advised that it had been made in error.”

The email obtained by BBC Sport was sent on 18 October 2011 under the heading Testo Gel, with a Fit4Sport employee writing to Dr Freeman to "confirm that I have now received back the Testogel 50mg pack of 30 sachets which we sent in error to you.

"This will be destroyed on our premises,” the email continues.. Apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused you, we will revise our procedure to ensure incorrect pharmaceutical products are not shipped out again."

It is alleged that the doctor’s motive for his actions, in respect of the untrue statements and communications with Fit4Sport Ltd, were to conceal his motive for placing the order."

Dr Freeman denies any wrongdoing. The hearing is due to begin in Manchester on 6 February.