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28th September 2023
11:00am BST
Blue singer Lee Ryan has been sentenced for racially abusing a British Airways flight attendant.
The 40-year-old singer referred to Leah Gordon’s as "chocolate cookie" during a flight from Glasgow to London City Airport on 31 July last year.
He had been refused more alcohol and told to return to his seat and is said to have grabbed Gordon's wrists.
Ryan was given a 12-month suspended prison sentence for racially aggravated common assault by beating and behaving in an abusive way towards a cabin crew member.
The performer was said to be "slurring his words and staggering around" after drinking a whole bottle of port before his flight.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to being drunk on an aircraft, for which he was handed a four-month jail term to run concurrently.
The Evening Standard reported that Judge Nicholas Wood sentenced Ryan to 12 months in prison, but agreed to suspend the jail term for the next 18 months, during an appearance at Isleworth crown court on Thursday.
The judge, the publication reported, said Ryan's behaviour was "totally unacceptable and disgraceful."
