Overview
- Liverpool Crown Court suspended a six-month jail term for 18 months and ordered rehabilitation, 200 hours of unpaid work and £23,419 in prosecution costs.
- Two-year restraining orders bar Barton from contacting or referencing Jeremy Vine, Eni Aluko or Lucy Ward across social media or broadcast platforms.
- Jurors convicted him on six of 12 counts tied to posts from January to March 2024, clearing the Wests “commentary” analogy but deeming a doctored image of the serial killers grossly offensive.
- Posts aimed at Vine included Epstein insinuations and repeated use of “bike nonce,” which the judge said falsely identified the broadcaster as a paedophile.
- Judge Andrew Menary said the messages were “obviously grossly offensive” and found the attacks on Aluko were aggravated by hostility based on race, with prior libel and assault cases noted in court.