Ryanair passenger whose racist rant went viral will not be prosecuted in the UK

UK authorities cannot move forward as the incident took place in Spain

A Ryanair passenger whose racist rant went viral cannot be prosecuted for his actions here in the UK.

David Mesher was filmed calling fellow passenger Delsie Gayle an “ugly black b*****d” onboard a flight from Barcelona to London Stansted on 19 October 2018.

The 70-year-old’s outburst quickly went viral after another traveller, David Lawrence, posted it online.

At the time of the incident, the aircraft was still on the tarmac in Spain before take-off.

One passenger reported the incident once the flight landed at Stansted.

“Following disturbing footage on social media we have completed a thorough investigation into reports a woman was subjected to racial verbal abuse on a stationary plane at Barcelona Airport,” a spokesperson for Essex Police said.

“Although the offence did not happen within the jurisdiction of England or Wales, we conducted a thorough investigation and sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service.

“They did not have the jurisdiction to advise on any charging decision.

“We have completed our enquiries as far as we are legally able to, given that the incident did not happen within our jurisdiction and are now in contact with the Spanish legal authorities so that they can determine how they wish to proceed.”

The Spanish authorities will now decide what steps to take, and whether Mesher is to answer questions before a judge.

The former railway worker from Birmingham, who lives in sheltered housing, has apologised for his behaviour since the incident, saying the altercation started when Ms Gayle refused to get up from her seat.

“I probably lost my temper a bit and ordered her to get up,” he said during an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

“I’m not a racist person by any means and it’s just a fit of temper at the time, I think,” he went on.

“I apologise for all the distress you’ve had there and since.”

Ms Gayle, 77, said she did not think she could accept his apology.

“You must forget and forgive but it’s going to take a long time for me to get over what he has done to me,” she said.