JOEY Barton and Jeremy Vine locked horns in a High Court showdown after the former footballer compared him to Jimmy Savile.
BBC Radio 2 host Vine is suing ex-Man City, Newcastle and QPR midfielder Barton for libel and harassment over social media posts.
PAJeremy Vine outside court today[/caption]
AlamyJoey Barton (pictured) targeted Vine in a series of vile Tweets[/caption]
PAVine is suing Barton for libel and harassment[/caption]
It relates to 12 tweets made by Barton which accuse Vine of being a “paedo defender” and comparing him to “bogeymen” paedophiles Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris.
One features an image of Vine, 58, edited next to disgraced TV star Harris referring to him as a “big bike n***e”.
Barton, 41, later retweeted a picture of Vine cycling, writing: “If you see this fella by a primary school call 999.”
The posts wrongly suggest the broadcaster has a “sexual interest in children”, according to Vine’s lawyer Gervase de Wilde.
He claimed the lawsuit also includes another post accusing Vine of supporting a conspiracy theory about Covid vaccines being administered by force.
But Barton, who has 2.8million Twitter followers, claims his opinions are not defamatory and instead “vulgar abuse”.
Mr de Wilde said: “Mr Barton has been posting about this case inaccurately on his X account.
“Could we make clear this is a defamation and harassment case over publications by Mr Barton, which have reached millions of readers, which said he had a sexual interest in children.”
He added: “The particulars of claim are crystal clear. It states each post and the meaning of each post.
“Barton claims it’s not serious and instead humorous abuse.
“The idea that using casual paedophilic slurs can’t be defamatory as they are not reported to child protection services is obviously wrong in practice and principle.
“He chose the one toxic word to say which means paedophile.
“Its meaning would be understood by the ordinary, reasonable reader.”
Mr De Wilde submitted an amendment application for the litigation to also incorporate a privacy claim which he believes has a “real prospect of success”.
He claimed Barton posting court documents featuring Vine’s address is a misuse of private information.
Barton has been “on notice” since first posting it on X/Twitter and removing it on March 15 – but the court heard he has since reposted it.
William McCormick, representing Barton who did not attend, insisted they are investigating whether Vine’s address is in the public domain and would respond to the application within a week.
He also claimed the former footballer was simply responding in a “Twitter spat” in the “same way anyone who remembers him will remember he used to tackle”.
Ex-Bristol Rovers manager Barton raised £15,959 through a GoFundMe page to support his costly legal battle with Vine.
He claims any awarded damages will be donated to the Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool.
Barton is also being sued by retired Lioness Eni Aluko after the ITV pundit and her family were targeted on social media.