Former Blue boy Lee Ryan has appeared at Guildford Magistrates' Court this week facing those previously reported allegations that he assaulted a taxi driver last New Year's Eve. The singer is accused of punching Naeem Ibrahim up to three times in the head during the course of an argument over a traffic incident - Ryan was a passenger in his fiancée Samantha Miller's Ford Ka when it apparently ran into the back of the cabbie's vehicle.
Ibrahim claims that Ryan refused to give the driver's details following the incident, in which he claims the rear of his people-carrier had sustained some damage, and that events escalated from there. He told the court: "The female driver did not get out. The male passenger got out and I said I wanted to exchange details but he ignored me. He said there is no damage and he is not going to pay for it. I told him if I didn't get the details I would have to call the police. He was swearing at me, saying 'I don't give a damn shit'. I didn't answer and just went to write down his registration number. As I was writing I got punched on the side of my head. I think he punched me twice and I fell down. I was in shock".
One of Ibrahim's passengers at the time of the incident, Peter Collier, corroborated the story of the attack, saying that he saw Ryan punch the driver three times, leaving him with a swelling "the size of a tennis ball". Collier's girlfriend Jane Claydon added that she saw the singer and his girlfriend giggling immediately after the crash and also when he was led away in handcuffs, saying: "They seemed to find it amusing."
Commenting on the case, Ryan's defence Raymond Lewis in particular denied allegations that the altercation was racially motivated on Ryan's part, while also claiming that his client was responding to an aggressive movement by Ibrahim. He also accused the cabbie of exploiting the incident for gain - ie, exaggerating his injuries once he found out that Ryan was a famous (or formerly famous?) singer in order to make money out of the situation. "You're milking this aren't you?" said Lewis. "You call a man a racist for no reason".
At the time of his arrest Ryan told police: "I think he knew who I was. I've had this before when people know who I am and think they can make a pound note out of me".