Lucy Ward tells jury that social media posts from Joey Barton left her ‘scared’

TV football co-commentator Lucy Ward has told a jury that social media posts from Joey Barton left her “intimidated” and “physically scared”.

Ex-Manchester City and Newcastle United player Barton is alleged to have “crossed the line between free speech and a crime” with messages on X, formerly Twitter, about Ms Ward, fellow football pundit Eni Aluko and broadcaster Jeremy Vine.

Barton, 43, is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of 12 counts of sending a grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety.

In January 2024, Barton – who has 2.7 million followers on the X platform – likened Ms Aluko and Ms Ward to the “Fred and Rose West of football commentary” after a televised FA Cup tie between Crystal Palace and Everton.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Ms Ward said she “knew he would get to me at one point” because of Barton’s general viewpoint that he did not like women commenting on men’s football matches.

Asked by prosecutor Peter Wright KC how she felt about the post, she said: “Intimidated. It was very unpleasant to be the subject of someone’s abuse.

“I’m trying to do my job. I am one of the few females doing it and I have already crossed over a lot of barriers. It’s tough to do your job with that happening.

“Fred and Rose West tortured, sexually abused and killed children, so I couldn’t really work out why I was being called that. At first it was very, very harsh but then obviously it continued.”

Mr Wright said: “How did you feel about that?”

Ms Ward replied: “Stress. Anxious. Because you don’t know in your head where it’s going. You can’t escape someone who has more than two-and-a-half million followers on Twitter, not just their tweets but people who latch on and message you and