Sir Dave Brailsford, General Manager of Team Sky and former Performance Director of British Cycling, told the Culture Media and Sport (CMS) Committee of the UK Parliament on 19 December that a package flown to Sir Bradley Wiggins in France after the 2011 Criterium du Dauphiné contained fluimucil. Fluimucil is a drug not licensed for use in the UK and is not recommended for suffers of asthma, such as Wiggins.

Fluimucil is freely available in France, where the Criterium du Dauphiné takes place. It is also freely available in Italy, where Wiggins and Team Sky were heading for a training camp in Sestriere, after the Criterium had finished. There are five pharmacies within 10 kilometres of Sestriere.

The Daily Mail yesterday alleged that Brailsford used various methods in an attempt to persuade the newspaper not to continue with its story. “We don’t wish to comment on this article”, said a British Cycling spokesperson. British Cycling told the CMS Committee that the package was requested by Richard Freeman, Wiggins’ doctor, and was delivered by Simon Cope, British Cycling’s women’s road coach via a flight paid for by British Cycling on 12 June 2011.

Shane Sutton, British Cycling’s former Technical Director, confirmed that the package contained medication when questioned by the CMS Committee. British Cycling had earlier confirmed that if the package was ‘pharmaceutical’, it would be able to confirm its contents in a ‘couple of days’. That was two days ago.