Ex-footballer Joey Barton guilty over 'offensive' X posts

Former footballer Joey Barton has been found guilty of six counts of sending "grossly offensive" social media posts directed at broadcaster Jeremy Vine and TV football pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.

Barton, 43, had compared Aluko and Ward to the serial killer couple Fred and Rose West, and called Vine a "bike nonce" in posts sent between January and March 2024.

Jurors at Liverpool Crown Court accepted the prosecution's argument that Barton "crossed the line between free speech and a crime" on six counts.

But they cleared the ex-Manchester City, Everton and Newcastle midfielder of six other counts of sending a grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety.

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