Ex-footballer Joey Barton has apologised and agreed to pay broadcaster and cycling advocate Jeremy Vine £75,000 in damages and costs to settle a defamation case lodged by the Channel 5 presenter in the wake of a string of social media posts which saw Barton label Vine a “bike nonce” and a “paedo defender”.
Vine, who uploads videos from his cycle journeys around London and regularly addresses cycling-related topics and debates on his Channel 5 show, filed the defamation claim after former Manchester City and Newcastle United midfielder Barton made 14 posts linking him to Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris, and claiming that the broadcaster had advocated for forced vaccination during the Covid-19 pandemic, after the pair clashed on X, formerly Twitter, over the role of women in men’s football.
In the posts, Barton referred to Vine as a “big bike nonce” and a “paedo defender”, prompting the presenter to sue the retired footballer for libel and harassment. In doing so, Vine joined former England footballer and current TV pundit Eni Aluko in taking legal action against Barton for his social media comments, which have ramped up and become increasingly controversial since the 41-year-old’s sacking as manager of League One side Bristol Rovers in October.
> Jeremy Vine sues ex-footballer Joey Barton over "bike nonce" tweet
Complaining about Barton’s criticism of female pundits such as Aluko, Vine wrote X, “Genuinely, is it possible we are dealing with a brain injury here?” Barton replied by saying, “No brain injury here pal. You just don’t like the truth”.
Barton had also previously asked Vine to stop mentioning him during his broadcast work, tweeting on January 8: “Oi, bike nonce! Stop talking about me on your s**tty show.”
The pair have had numerous exchanges on social media, with one seeing Barton claim the broadcaster is “one of the many Government Stooges trying to pressure people to play Russian Roulette with those Covid vaccines”.
In other cycling-related posts, Barton called cyclists “pedalphiles” and asked for “a petition to charge ‘Pedalphiles’ road tax, need to have insurance and an MOT.....to ride in London”. However, it appears that Vine’s subsequent defamation case was not related to Barton’s views on Vine as a cyclist or cycling in general.
At a preliminary hearing last month, Mrs Justice Steyn assessed the “natural and ordinary” meanings of the posts and whether they were statements of fact or opinion, before ruling that 11 of Barton’s posts could defame Vine.
And in a statement issued on Tuesday, Barton apologised for the posts, which he has acknowledged were “untrue”.
“Between 8 and 12 January 2024 I published 11 posts which accused Jeremy Vine of having a sexual interest in children, and created a hashtag which made the same allegations, which were viewed millions of times,” Barton, who earned one cap for England as a late substitute in a friendly defeat to Spain in 2007, said in the statement.
“I recognise that this is a very serious allegation. It is untrue. I do not believe that Mr Vine has a sexual interest in children, and I wish to set the record straight.
“I also published posts during the same period in which I referred to Mr Vine having advocated forced vaccination during the Covid-19 pandemic, based upon a video clip of his TV programme.
“I accept that he did not advocate this policy and that the video clip has been edited to give a misleading impression of what he was in fact saying.
“I then taunted and abused Mr Vine for bringing a legal complaint against me. I have agreed not to make the same allegations again about Mr Vine and I apologise to him for the distress he has suffered. To resolve his claims against me in defamation and harassment, I have agreed to pay Mr Vine £75,000 in damages and his legal costs.”