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Spanish police investigating Ryanair racist abuse incident

Spanish police are investigating an incident on a Ryanair plane where an elderly black woman was racially abused by a fellow passenger.

Essex Police said: “We have worked to identify both parties involved in the Ryanair incident and passed this information to the Spanish authorities, who are leading on this investigation.

“Our officers will continue to provide assistance where necessary throughout the course of this case.”

Shocking footage posted online shows Deslie Gayle, who is disabled and in her 70s, being shouted out by a white man.

He calls her an ‘ugly black b******’ and says: “Don’t talk to me in a foreign language you stupid ugly cow.”

Essex Police say they have identified the man in the video
Essex Police say they have identified the man in the video

Ms Gayle told ITV News yesterday: “I was shocked, nobody ever said those words to me.

“I travel a lot, I go to Canada, and no-one has every said those words to me”.

“I feel very low. He paid a fare a to go on holiday, I’ve paid mine so why does he abuse me for that due to the colour of my skin?

“He do it with me and he gets away, he’ll do it to somebody else.”

She also revealed yesterday that the airline had failed to contact her in the three days since the incident.

Ryanair has so far refused to comment.

The airline was widely condemned after staff apparently failed to move the man, with staff leaving a passenger in the row behind the deal with the altercation.

Footage shows the man shouting at the woman to move seats while her daughter tries to stand up to him, telling him her mother is disabled.

He replies: “I don’t care whether she’s f****** disabled or not – if I tell her to get out she gets out.”

The man then calls her “an ugly f****** c***” and tells staff to move the woman to another seat, adding: “If you don’t go to another seat I’ll push you to another seat”.

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The cabin crew can be heard to say: “Don’t be so rude, you have to calm down” while other passengers call for the man to be thrown off the flight.

The victim can be heard telling the man he stinks and needs a wash, before asking to be moved so she can sit next to her daughter.

The daughter of the Ms Gayle said she believed if a black person had behaved in the same way they would have been thrown off the flight immediately.