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Daily Record
Daily Record
World
Claire Galloway

Barrister claims family was 'escorted off BA flight' by cops over nanny business class row

A top barrister has claimed his family was escorted from a flight after their nanny was denied access to business class by the cabin crew.

Armed police reportedly escorted Charles Banner, QC, 41, his two children and their mother off the British Airways plane at Heathrow Airport.

Mr Banner had purchased business class tickets ahead of the flight to Turin, Italy.

But when the family got to the boarding gate, they were told their nanny had been downgraded to economy as the flight was oversold.

The barrister claimed staff on the plane were 'rude' to him when he asked if the nanny could move into business class as he and his wife wanted to work on the flight.

He said one of the cabin crew even told him 'you wish'.

The plane was grounded amid the row before the pilot finally insisted the family be removed from the delayed flight.

Mr Banner told Mail Online : "If BA had told me that the nanny could not sit with us in business then we would not have travelled and could have got a later flight. But they only told us that when we got to the boarding gate.

"I behaved perfectly but I was challenging the cabin crew because it was the right thing to do.

"It was a very upsetting event for all of the family and the way we were treated was appalling and in contrast to over 15 years of pleasant experiences on BA flights as a regular customer."

Mr Banner claims there was even a spare seat near him in business class but that BA staff told him the nanny could not use it.

The barrister added that the cabin crew offered him compensation but would not explain why they could not use the free seat.

He then informed the BA workers he had made an official complaint about their behaviour.

Mr Banner is now demanding a full apology and a cash refund for the incident, which cost him around £4,000, Mail Online reports.

The lawyer, who vowed to never fly with BA again, has already received two verbal apologies.

Armed police escorted Mr Banner's family back through immigration as a matter of 'standard protocol' when passengers leave a plane.

A spokesman for BA told Mail Online: "We do not tolerate disruptive behaviour and the safety of our customers and crew is our top priority."

Mr Banner is considered one of the top four QCs in the UK in the field of planning, commercial and public procurement.

When he was appointed a QC in 2019 at the age of 38 he was said to be the youngest from that year's batch.

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