By IANS,
London : A British high society beauty who was accused of lewd behaviour on a Bangalore-London Kingfisher flight has been cleared of the charge of being drunk.
Clare Irby, a descendant of the Guinness brewing family, denied drinking up to 10 glasses of wine on the March 26, 2008 flight. She claimed she was not drunk but “a bit relaxed” and “really, really tired” after getting very little sleep, the Guardian reported.
Richard Slade, Irby’s solicitor, said his client was “delighted and relieved” at her acquittal.
Isleworth crown court heard that Irby was travelling with her two-year-old son on Kingfisher Airlines when she struck up a rapport with Daniel Melia, 36, a passenger who sat behind her.
The jury of eight men and four women were told that the pair flirted, kissed and at one point Melia was said to have touched her breasts, a claim denied by Irby.
Shivaneji Sharma, a flight attendant, said Irby had three to four glasses of wine in the first 90 minutes of the flight and at one point took off her skirt, revealing her G-string, before changing into leggings.
Arpita Mehra, another flight attendant, said Irby “was not in a state that she could take care of her child” who was “crying in the cabin. She was busy with the guest sitting behind her. The man was leaning forward and grabbing hold of her breast and they were kissing each other”.
Irby admitted to being “not as polite as I usually am” with the cabin crew. The jury heard that she had put her hand into the face of a female flight attendant and called another a “bitch”.
“I personally feel sorry for people who sit by me because I know I’m louder than the average person because I have a child who I care for and have to make sure he behaves as well as he can,” Irby said.