Blue singer Lee Ryan loses High Court appeal over racist assault conviction

The singer has failed in his High Court challenge to his conviction for a racially aggravated assault on a British Airways flight attendant in 2022.

• Ryan, 43, was convicted in 2023 of racially aggravated common assault and abusive behavior after drunkenly grabbing cabin crew member Leah Gordon's wrists and calling her a "chocolate cookie."
• He received a 12-month suspended sentence at Isleworth Crown Court in September 2023 after being found guilty at Ealing Magistrates' Court.
• The High Court dismissed Ryan's appeal against the refusal to refer the case, finding no error in the Crown Court's reasoning.
• Ryan's lawyers argued the Crown Court judge wrongly drew an adverse inference from his police interview, but the High Court rejected that argument.