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‘Drunk Guinness girl stripped to knickers' on London flight
Paul Cheston, Courts Correspondent14 Sep 2009
A drunken society beauty swore at airline cabin staff and had her breasts fondled by a fellow passenger in front of other travellers, a court heard today.
Clare Irby, 30, a descendant of the Guinness family, allegedly shared three bottles of wine with a male passenger she met on the flight from India to Heathrow.
She called a stewardess a “bitch” and stripped down to her knickers in full view of other passengers as she changed from her skirt into trousers, it was alleged.
Meanwhile her young son, aged about two or three, ran around the Kingfisher Airlines plane without a nappy — and at one staged Irby tossed a soiled nappy onto a row seats behind her, Isleworth crown court heard.
Irby, of Fulham, who was educated at Heathfield School in Worcestershire, is related to the Guinness family through her father, Old Etonian banker Paul Aschan. Her late grandfather Robert Henderson was chairman of private bank Kleinwort Benson. She denies a charge of being drunk on a plane. Prosecutor Bill McGivern said: “In essence you will hear from a member of the public, Polly O'Callaghan, that she noticed the defendant had become very friendly with another passenger.
“They were both loud, they were both drinking. She became concerned for the defendant's son — he was running around without a nappy on. She also noticed the defendant repeatedly pushing the button to call members of staff and at one stage called one a bitch.”
Crew on the flight banned her from drinking any more because of her behaviour, the jury heard.
Mr McGivern added: “That behaviour included such matters as at one stage she changed from her skirt to trousers but simply took her skirt off and revealed her underwear. At another point she complained about diamonds having been stolen and asked to be given a bottle of wine in lieu of that.
“At one stage she was seen to throw a dirty nappy on to the seat behind her. She became friendly with another male passenger and one of the witnesses saw that passenger fondling her breasts.”
He added: “At one stage she gave one of the crew the finger because she didn't like what was being said to her.”
Irby was refused further alcohol and arrested when the flight landed. A police officer believed that she was still drunk when he attended, the jury heard.
In a police interview Irby said she was a single mother and was very tired on the flight. She said she had no more than four or five glasses of wine during the flight and as she hadn't eaten properly it had affected her more than normal.
She denied exposing her underwear when getting changed and said her memory was “foggy”.
Asked by police if she was drunk she said: “I wouldn't normally get drunk like this on this amount of alcohol.”
The trial continues.
