Former footballer Joey Barton has been found guilty of six counts of sending "grossly offensive" social media posts directed at broadcaster Jeremy Vine and television pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko. Barton, 43, 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.
"It was not meant to call him a paedophile. It was a bad, dark, juvenile joke," he said. "I have not at any point tried to cause distress or anxiety or risk his life or his daughters' lives. "I don't want people to fear for their lives, I'm a dad. "I cannot believe I'm on trial for this. Words on a social media site."
