Barton ‘needs to find another hobby’, Vine says after a hearing on a defamation case

Joey Barton “needs to find another hobby”, Jeremy Vine said after the former football manager was accused of “undermining” a libel settlement with the broadcaster.

Vine sued Barton for defamation and harassment over nine online posts, including where he falsely called the BBC Radio 2 presenter a ‘big bike nonce’ on X, formerly Twitter.

The pair settled the claim after Barton posted two apologies on the same social media platform and paid a total of £110,000 in damages to Vine, as well as his legal costs.

At the High Court, Gervase de Wilde, representing Vine, who was present in court, said in an agreed statement that Barton now acknowledges that he made a “very serious” and “untrue” accusation.

But Vine’s attorney later referenced a post recently posted by Barton on X, where Vine can be seen dancing and walking around an office in a pair of high-heeled shoes.

De Wilde asked a judge to warn Barton of the risk of contempt of court, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

Joey Barton probably lost £450.00 on nine tweets, so he needs to find another hobby

Alongside the Vine video, which was posted about six hours before the hearing, Barton posted the caption, “Totally normal. Nothing to see here” alongside several emojis, including a cyclist and a rainbow.

Outside court, Vine said: “Joey Barton probably lost himself £450.00 with nine tweets so he needs to find another hobby.”

De Wilde told the hearing that the post “denies the justification of a statement” being read out, adding: “It undermines the settlement he reached with Mr Vine and further infringes on his rights.”

The attorney said Barton made four commitments, including that he would not harass Vine or encourage others to do so.

Mr De Wilde said: “The behavior this morning has crossed the line and Mr Vine believes it has crossed the line.”

Mrs Justice Steyn said: “In light of the letter from the claimant’s lawyers it seems sensible to me to give the warning that Mr Barton would have received if he had made the undertakings in court.

“These are all serious commitments he has made to the court and any breach of them is potentially punishable as contempt of court.”

The defendant would like to apologize for the suffering his publications have caused

In the statement, Mr De Wilde said Vine was “deeply alarmed, saddened and appalled by the defendant’s conduct”, including a “sustained and deeply damaging campaign of defamation, intimidation and misuse of private information”.

Enfys Jenkins, on behalf of Barton, said in the statement that the former footballer “accepts everything said on behalf of the claimant”.

She added: “The defendant would like to apologize for the distress his publications have caused.”

Ms Jenkins later said she had not spoken to her client about the recent video post.