Footage shows the moment singer is removed from flight by armed police

Footage has emerged of the moment that singer Lee Ryan was removed from a British Airways flight at London City Airport by armed police before allegedly being arrested. The singer, 39, was approached by officers after it was claimed complaints were made that he was abusive to cabin crew on the plane when they refused to serve him alcohol.

Lee was then allegedly arrested by police on suspicion of public order offenses, and was released 12 hours later pending further investigation. In the footage, police can be seen boarding the plane after it flew to London from Glasgow, with one officer asking Lee to exit the flight with them. Lee asks why he is being asked to leave the flight, but the female officer says they will discuss it later.

A few seconds later Lee stands up, collects his belongings, and exits the plane. A source told The Sun: ‘It was quite shocking. He’d been irate on the flight and was being abusive and swearing. He was just being generally abusive to people. Everyone just thought he was being a fool. He kept asking for more alcohol but they would not serve him. He got up off his seat and he just looked like a fool.’

A representative for Lee Ryan declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline. During the flight staff are believed to have radioed ahead, prompting a police van to meet the former Celebrity Big Brother contestant on the runway with cops boarding the flight. After being removed from the flight it’s believed that Lee was handcuffed and arrested on suspicion of public order offenses, spending the night in a cell. Ryan has since been released from custody after 12 hours, pending further investigation.

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A passenger, who claimed the incident delayed the flight by 20 minutes, told The Sun: ‘He became aggressive with the air hostesses once it became clear he wouldn’t get given alcohol. At one point he left his seat and started walking up and down the aisle despite being told to sit down — he even ran behind the cabin crew curtains. It was crazy behavior.’ Another said: ‘The way he acted was really intimidating.’

A Metropolitan Police spokesman told MailOnline on Sunday: ‘At around 1640hrs on Sunday, 31 July, officers met a flight that had arrived at London City Airport from Glasgow. A 39-year-old man was arrested for a public order offense. He was taken into custody at an East London police station and was released under investigation the following day.’ Ryan has previously spoken of his struggles with alcohol, after describing himself as having been a ‘good alcoholic’ for 10 years.

The former pop star, who has appeared on Celebs Go Dating, told in 2019 how he still drinks socially but not ‘inwardly’. Back in April it was revealed his company has gone bust with debts totaling £69,000 ($84,000). Lee Bee Ltd has been placed into voluntary liquidation owing the huge amount including an estimated £15,000 ($18,000) to HMRC and £50,000 ($61,000) to Metro Bank. The firm, which was set up in 2019, has no money to pay out to its creditors and began to be wound up by liquidator Stuart Rathmell on 17 March. The debts also include £4,000 ($4,800) owed to the Blue singer, 38, who is the sole director. A representative for Lee was contacted by MailOnline for comment at the time.

According to records, his only other active company Catch A Dream Productions Ltd filed accounts on 23 March, which revealed debts of £2,175 ($2,655). Ryan relocated to Spain in 2020 with his girlfriend Verity Paris after seeing work dry up in this country. In March it was revealed that he had secretly married his girlfriend of two years Verity. The couple, who welcomed a daughter, whose name they haven’t publicly shared, in August last year, tied the knot in an intimate and romantic ceremony.

Ryan moved to Spain last year to start a family with Verity, 31, and the couple said I Do at a registry office in Gibraltar. The newlywed told The Sun : ‘I met someone finally who loves and supports me in everything I do. ‘Verity is a beautiful, strong and loving woman who I treasure, and I’m a lucky man to have such a wonderful mother for my child, and now wife in her. ‘I’ve never been more calm and grounded and I have Verity to thank for that. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life because of the wonderful family life I now have.’ Ryan is pictured here with Verity and their daughter. 

 As well as his daughter with Verity, Ryan is also dad to daughter Bluebell, 13, who he shares with ex Jessica Keevil, and son Rayn, 12, whose mother is his ex-fiancée, Samantha Miller. The couple moved to a beachfront apartment in the Costa del Sol in 2020 with the duo admitting that they now have a ‘better quality of life’ and ‘new lease of life’. Ryan admitted that after 20 years of living in London he now loves scenic walks along the coastline and sea air.