Lee Ryan, the singer from the pop group Blue, has lost a High Court challenge against his conviction for racially aggravated assault on a London-bound flight. The incident occurred on a British Airways flight from Glasgow to London City Airport in July 2022.
Ryan, 43, was said to be “slurring his words and staggering around” after consuming an entire bottle of port before takeoff. When cabin crew refused to serve him more alcohol and instructed him to return to his seat, he made derogatory comments about flight attendant Leah Gordon’s appearance, calling her a “chocolate cookie” before grabbing her wrists.
Conviction and Sentence
In September 2023, Ryan was convicted of racially aggravated assault and behaving in an abusive manner toward a crew member at Isleworth Crown Court. He received a 12-month suspended prison sentence. Ryan subsequently appealed the conviction at the Crown Court, but his appeal was partially dismissed.
A Crown Court judge later declined to refer the case to the High Court, deeming the application frivolous. Ryan then launched a separate legal challenge at the High Court against that decision.
High Court Ruling
On Tuesday, Lord Justice Holgate and Mr Justice Johnson dismissed Ryan’s bid. They noted that Ryan had already been permitted to appeal his convictions in November 2023, at which time his sentence was rescinded. In November 2024, a judge and two magistrates granted Ryan’s appeal regarding the conviction for threatening a crew member but upheld the assault conviction.
The court highlighted inconsistencies in Ryan’s testimony: in his police interview, he admitted grabbing Gordon’s wrists, but at trial he claimed he had only touched them. Ryan argued he was misled by the police. His lawyers contended that the Crown Court judge wrongly drew an adverse inference from his interview.
Judges’ Reasoning
Lord Justice Holgate and Mr Justice Johnson rejected this argument. They stated: “The central task for the Crown Court was to assess the reliability and credibility of the competing accounts given by Ms Gordon and Mr Ryan. In doing so, it was entitled to rely on the inconsistency between Mr Ryan’s account in interview, which coincided with Ms Gordon’s allegation that he had grabbed her wrists, and the account he gave in evidence.”
They added: “The essential reasoning of the court was that it believed Ms Gordon who had been sober at the time and who was a consistent and compelling witness, and they disbelieved Mr Ryan who had been drunk at the time and had been inconsistent. That was sufficient for the court to dismiss the appeal.”
Outcome
The judges concluded there was “no error” in the Crown Court judge’s decision not to send the case to the High Court. Ryan will now return to court for sentencing on the assault conviction.
