Lee Ryan has charge of biting police officer while drunk on Scots flight dropped
12.07.2023 - 15:45
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
Blue singer Lee Ryan has had a charge against him dropped over a claim he assaulted a police officer after boarding a flight drunk. At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, he was told prosecutors had dropped the charge of assault by biting.
Ryan had previously pleaded guilty to the offence. But the Crown Prosecution Service chose to drop the charge after he successfully withdrew the guilty plea last month, saying he had been given "poor advice from his solicitor".
The boyband member appeared in the dock today dressed in a blue suit and patterned tie, speaking only to confirm his name and date of birth.
The 40-year-old has still to be sentenced over the events of July 31 last year, after he boarded a British Airways flight from Glasgow to London City Airport after drinking a bottle of port.
When refused more alcohol on the plane and told to return to his seat, he made comments about attendant Leah Gordon’s looks. He called her "my chocolate cookie", said she could have their "chocolate children" and grabbed her wrists.
In January, he was found guilty at Ealing Magistrates' Court of racially aggravated common assault by beating and behaving in an abusive way towards the cabin crew member.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to being drunk on an aircraft. Today, district judge Tan Ikram told Ryan’s defence lawyer, Keima Payton: "The drunkenness is as serious as the charges he has been found guilty of.
"The aircraft member formed the view that your client was drunk." The judge said this provided the backdrop for the offences, with all three charges “intertwined”. Ryan will be sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court at a later date.
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