Disgraced Blue star Lee Ryan wins bid to withdraw guilty plea for ‘assaulting cop’ as he faces trial

LEE Ryan has won his bid to withdraw his plea for drunkenly assaulting a cop and now faces a trial.

The Blue star, 39, drank half a bottle of port in the airport lounge before boarding a flight from Glasgow to London City Airport on July 31.

The singer was found guilty of being drunk on an aircraft and racially aggravated common assault by beating at Ealing Magistrates' Court in January.

He had also admitted assaulting a police officer by biting him in January.

But appearing at court on Tuesday, he said it would be "unjust" not to allow him to withdraw the plea, as he claimed to have received bad legal advice.

Ryan was seen walking into Westminster Magistrates' Court wearing a black suit, white shirt and a pair of dark sunglasses.

He previously pleaded guilty to being drunk on an aircraft and vowed to get help for his drinking.

Keima Payton, representing Ryan, told a magistrate that her client suffered from autistic spectrum disorder and had "slow processing skills" leading to "impairments in understanding what is said to him", according to a psychological report.

She said that text messages sent by Ryan on the day of the hearing showed that he was made to feel like he "had to" plead guilty by Mr Rainford, "even though he (Pc Bryett) grabbed my neck".

Ms Payton said that body-worn footage which might have helped Ryan claim self-defence had not been presented to him until shortly before his court appearance, meaning he was unable to properly consider it.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Ryan said he initially denied assaulting the police officer at a hearing in November where he admitted to being drunk on an aircraft, saying: "I didn't do it - I didn't bite him. That's why I pleaded not guilty."

He said that, in the weeks which followed, his solicitor assured him that the assault charge would be dropped before the next hearing.

"I found him quite dismissive and rude, quite condescending," Ryan said.

On the morning of his next hearing in January, scheduled for trial, he said he was shown a video showing him in an altercation with a police officer which he had been "begging" Mr Rainford to see "for months".

He said his solicitor made him feel like he had "no choice" but to plead guilty after watching the video.

"I asked him if there was more time because it felt so rushed, and he said there was no time," Ryan told the court.

"It had become very clear that he either didn't care or just wasn't prepared."

Describing the moment he pleaded guilty, he said: "I couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth.

"There was no conviction - it wasn't true. I was being made to do it."

Ryan entered a second not guilty plea at the hearing and elected to be put on trial.

A decision on whether or not Ryan will face a trial will be made at a fresh hearing in July.