Joey Barton to pay Jeremy Vine £75,000 to settle High Court libel claim

Joey Barton has apologised to Jeremy Vine and agreed to pay the broadcaster £75,000 in damages to settle a High Court libel claim.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Barton said the allegations he made against Mr Vine, including calling him a “bike nonce”, were “untrue”.

Mr Vine had sued Mr Barton for libel and harassment over 14 online posts, including where he called Mr Vine a “big bike nonce” and a “pedo defender” on X.

A High Court judge ruled last month that 11 of the posts could defame Mr Vine.

In a statement, Mr Barton said: “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.

“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.”

Lawyers for Mr Vine told a hearing in London on May 9 that Mr Barton posted several abusive tweets about the broadcaster in early January this year in a