Charlie Smith
THE British man who launched a racist attack on a black woman on a Ryanair flight from Spain will not be charged police have said.
David Mesher, 70, attacked Delsie Gayle, 77, with racial slurs on a plane at Barcelona Airport on October 19.
Mesher, originally from Birmingham, was filmed by other passengers calling Gayle an ‘ugly black bastard’ on the FR015 flight to London Stansted.
In the video – which got over a million views online – he also threatened to ‘push’ her to a different seat and said: “Don’t talk to me in a foreign language.”
However Essex Police has said it has no jurisdiction to prosecute Mesher, as the incident occurred in Spain.
It added that it was in contact with the Spanish authorities about the next steps.
After the incident Gayle said: “I feel very low.
“He paid a fare to go on holiday, I’ve paid mine, so why does he abuse me for that due to the colour of my skin?”
A statement from Essex Police read: “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.”
After the incident Mesher said: “I probably lost my temper a bit and ordered her to get up.
“I’m not a racist person by any means and it’s just a fit of temper at the time, I think.”
Gayle subsequently refused to accept an apology issued by Mesher.
