Barrister removed from BA plane by armed cops after row is given peerage by PM

09 February 2024 , 20:13

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Charles Banner hit the headlines two years ago following his row with BA staff

A barrister who was removed from a flight by armed cops and a council leader who bragged about trying to kill moles with a blowtorch have been given peerages by Rishi Sunak.

The Government slipped out the news on Friday evening that the PM was giving eight party supporters places in the House of Lords. The list includes three Tory donors who between them have given almost £160,000 to the party.

Also on there is Charles Banner, a high-flying barrister who made headlines in 2022 when his family was taken off a flight after their nanny was denied access to business class by the cabin crew. Armed police escorted the lawyer, his two children and their mother off the British Airways plane at Heathrow Airport.

Mr Banner had paid for business class tickets, however, he was told at the boarding gate that the family nanny had been downgraded to economy as the flight was oversold. The barrister said staff on the plane were 'rude' to him when he asked if the family nanny could move into business class as he and his wife wanted to work on the flight to Turin, Italy.

He said one of the cabin crew even told him 'you wish'. The plane was grounded as the debate continued on and the pilot finally insisted the family be removed from the flight, which was delayed.

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At the time, Mr Banner said: "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."

John Fuller, who is the leader of South Norfolk Council, is another of the Tories to get a peerage. In 2020, he faced criticism from naturalist Chris Packham after it was revealed that he had posted on Facebook about trying to kill moles with a blowtorch.

He posed for a picture with a propane can in a wheelbarrow, firing flames from a torch into burrows and wrote: “A great day to be killing moles.” He later claimed he failed to kill any moles in his “experiment”. Mr Fuller has previously donated £5,000 to the party.

Franck Petitgas, a former Morgan Stanley executive who has given £35,000 to the Tories, and party Treasury Stuart Marks, who has donated £119,500, have also been given peerages.

Labour has been given four new places in the House of Lords, while Plaid Cymru will get one new peer.

John Stevens