Robbie Dunne's appeal against 18-month suspension to be heard on March 30

Robbie Dunne's appeal against a verdict that he carried out a sustained campaign of bullying against fellow rider Bryony Frost will be heard on Wednesday, March 30, the BHA has announced.

Last December, the six-day hearing of the independent judicial panel culminated in Dunne being banned for 18 months with three months suspended.

Dunne's legal team announced their intention to appeal last month, against both the substance of the verdict and the penalty imposed by the panel.

The four breaches of rule (J)19 or 'conduct prejudicial to racing' – behaviour the panel found to constitute "deliberate, unwarranted targeting of a colleague over a considerable time" – relate to one count encompassing the whole period of February 13 to September 3, 2020, as well as three specific incidences of bullying and harassing at Stratford on July 8, 2020, Uttoxeter on August 17, 2020 and Southwell on September 3, 2020.

Robbie Dunne bolsters his legal team for appeal against 18-month ban

Panel chair Brian Barker drew a stark distinction between the evidence given by Frost, who was described as “a truthful, careful and compelling witness”, and that of Dunne, whose testimony was summarised as “unbalanced and at times difficult to follow”.

The inquiry also placed great weight on evidence given by former amateur jockey Hannah Welch that Dunne had intimidated and bullied her, as well as that of a fence attendant at Stratford who recalled hearing Dunne call Frost "a f****** slut".

In laying out their written reasoning for imposing the 18-month ban, the panel expressed the opinion that "Mr Dunne's words, and behaviour, were wholly inappropriate for a professional athlete in an equal opportunity sport and would not be tolerated in any other walk of life or workplace".

The case attracted widespread coverage of what was deemed acceptable in the modern weighing room. On the fifth and final day of evidence Dunne's defence team introduced a number of high-profile riders in an attempt to place his language in the context of what his lawyers argued to be normal in the high-pressure environment.

In particular there was consternation at the prosecution legal team's use of the phrase 'rancid' to describe the weighing room culture, a tension which the BHA sought partly to defuse in the wake of the guilty verdict.

A new panel is due to sit for the appeal under the chairmanship of Anthony Boswood QC. Dunne's legal team have added former permit-holder and tax law expert Robin Mathew QC to the defence.

Read more on this subject:

Robbie Dunne lodges appeal against 18-month ban for bullying Bryony Frost

Robbie Dunne rode in a 'deliberately intimidatory' manner against Bryony Frost

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