THE MAYOR of Barcelona has vowed to bring the "shameless" man who racially abused an elderly black woman on a Ryanair flight from the city to justice.
David Mesher, originally from Barking in east London, was named today as the man who hurled racist insults at 77-year-old fellow passenger Delsie Gayle as they boarded Flight FR015 from Barcelona Airport to Stansted on Friday.
In footage that went viral around the world, Mesher called the pensioner an "ugly black bastard" and shouted: "Don’t speak to me in a foreign language, you stupid ugly cow."
Mrs Gayle and her daughter Carol appeared on This Morning on Tuesday to call for Mesher's prosecution.
Today, the mayor of Barcelona pledged to ensure Mr Mesher was "punished" after Essex Police referred the case to Spanish authorities.
David Mesher has been named as the man who hurled racist insults at Delsie Gayle (Image: Twitter)Mayor Ada Colau branded the Birmingham-based retiree a "shameless rude racist" and said Mrs Gayle had the Catalan capital’s support and understanding.
Additionally, Barcelona's deputy Mayor, Jaume Asens, has called for the matter to be treated as a hate crime by the public prosecutor there.
"Barcelona is a welcoming and anti-racist city," Asens wrote on Twitter. “"All support to the victim".
Ryanair has received widespread criticism for the role of its cabin crew in failing to assist Mrs Gayle and remove Mr Mesher from its plane.
Asens said the Irish budget airline's response to Mesher's behaviour was unacceptable, adding: "Barcelona city hall will report it. We’re looking for the video-maker and witnesses."
Ryanair previously tweeted on Sunday that it could not comment further because the incident was now a police matter.
