A globetrotting economist appeared in court today accused of assaulting three cabin crew with a “judo sweep” kick during a legroom row on a flight from Johannesburg.
Hilary Diana Mackay, 54, an international Finance and Project Manager with links to MP’s and senior lawyers and accountants denies the charges, claiming she was practicing the martial art.
She is the ex-Company Secretary of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, a think-tank that counts Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge amongst its members and promotes democracy all over the world.
Mackay, who lives in a £942,000 home in Trebovir Road, Earl’s Court was arrested at Heathrow Airport after her Virgin Atlantic flight landed on December 12, last year.
She pleaded not guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates Court to assaulting Lucey Downey; Leanne Palmer and Phillip Sumner on Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
A charge of being drunk onboard Flight VS462 was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
She was bailed unconditionally to return to the same court for trial on February 26.
Mackay, a former Grants Officer for the Big Lottery Fund is currently a self-employed independent consultant/researcher specialising in international research and development and humanitarian assistance.
She has a BA in Russian Studies from the University of Leeds and a postgraduate degree from Birkbeck, University of London in Economics.
Cabin crew had told her to she must pay an extra £50 charge for sitting in a seat with extra legroom.
Her lawyer Mr. Such Kahlon told the court: “She’s done a judo sweep in the isle of the airplane. The steward has tripped up and injured themselves.”
Prosecutor Ms Zara Khan explained: “Ms Leanne Palmer has said that: ’At 10.30 my attention was drawn to a female passenger. The customer had her leg in the isle, looking like she was stretching.
‘She moved it in and then moved it out to deliberately trip me and I grabbed a headrest to break my fall. She made contact by my shin and I believe this was a deliberate attempt to trip me up.’
“The next complainant Lucey Downey says: ‘A passenger was sitting in an extra legroom seat that costs fifty pounds.’
“She says Ms Mackay was aggressive towards her and offensive and Ms Mackay stared at her and says she deliberately put her leg into the isle with: ‘Force and anger to trip me up and was successful and I tripped down the isle.’
“Mr. Sumner says: ‘At. 11.05 Ms Mackay tripped me up as I approached her and tripped me up as I approached her again. She looked at me and put her foot out.
‘I told her she could injure someone’.”
Mackay told the magistrates: “I didn’t trip the people up in the way that’s been described. It was judo sweeps along the floor.
“They stated they did not fall. The aim of the judo sweep is to put someone on the flat of their back, so as a judo sweep I failed.
“It is not an assault. Battery is with the hand and not the foot and I used a foot.
‘I was practicing judo sweeps. It wasn’t to trip someone up or target these people.
“I did aikido for three years and judo for five years.”
Mr. Kahlon added: “An altercation did occur on the airplane, but Ms Mackay believes it is not the right concept of what she did that makes an offence.
“She is saying it is not guilty, but: ‘I did swipe my leg.’
“She wants to claim compensation from the police for wasting my time and your time,” Mr. Kahlon told the magistrates.
Mackay, who appeared wearing a green hooded parka, black trousers and flat black shoes confirmed her name, date of birth, address and nationality.
She was reluctant to enter a plea, claiming she had not seen any prosecution statements or had the complainants identified to her.
“It’s not a guilty or not guilty, it’s no case,” she told the court from the dock. “I have the right to see the witness statements of the person who said I assaulted them.
“How can I plead guilty or not guilty if I don’t know who the person is. I don’t know who these people are.”
Mackay was repeatedly told to be quiet by bench chairwoman Evadne Cookman, who told her: “This is now the time for the prosecution to speak. Please stay calm and don’t interrupt the prosecution again.
“You can’t come in this court and decide what a case is or not.”
Prosecutor Ms Khan told the court: “No defence has been put forward. I’m not sure what the defence is.”
In her defence case statement Mackay claims the prosecution’s timings are all wrong, concluding: “The whole situation is a set-up.”
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