Retired footballer Joey Barton has officially been sentenced following a series of offensive posts on social media over the past year or so.
Six counts pertaining to three individuals, in particular, were highlighted when he appeared for his final hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, 8 December: online abuse directed at fellow ex-pros Eni Aluko, Lucy Ward and broadcaster Jeremy Vine.
Charged and now finally found guilty of ‘grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety’, Joey Barton has been given a six-month prison sentence – suspended for 18 months, however, meaning he won’t serve jail time unless he reoffends during this period.
Here he is queuing up outside the Crown Court earlier today:
BREAKING: Former footballer Joey Barton given six-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months over "grossly offensive" social media posts about Jeremy Vine, Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko. pic.twitter.com/dQuAAT1mQu
For context, the social media posts in question refer to the ones made on X (previously known as Twitter) and directed at the aforementioned public figures.
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The former Manchester City player and Liverpool youth product, who is originally from Merseyside but is now based around Widnes in Cheshire, was found guilty on Friday despite insisting his innocence throughout.
Barton – now 43 and having become a vocal far-right commentator – compared Aluko and Ward to two of the most infamous convicted serial killers in British history, writing that they were “the Fred and Rose West of football commentary” back in January 2024.
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He also labelled radio host and TV presenter, Vine, a “bike nonce” in a post that he later went on to dismiss as nothing more than “crude banter” and an attempt at “dark and stupid humour”, stating that he has no intention of actually suggesting he was a paedophile.
Elsewhere in the court appearance, Barton claimed that he is a victim of “political prosecution”; nevertheless, the judge found that the one-time England international (who also played for Newcastle, QPR, Burnley, Rangers and Marseille) “crossed the line between free speech and a crime.”
You can see the moment Judge Andrew Menary handed down the verdict, which will see him avoid time in custody once more, in full down below.
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As per an official update via the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Senior Prosecutor Callum Bryce of CPS Mersey-Cheshire said: “Between early January and mid-March 2024, Barton subjected three public figures to offences of malicious communications.
“Barton said in his evidence before the court that in some of his messages he was trying to make a serious point in a provocative way and that in others he was simply joking.
“The finding of the jury confirmed that his conduct had gone beyond any joke and his messages were grossly offensive with the purpose of causing anxiety and distress to his victims.”
It’s also worth noting that he has been charged, found guilty and sentenced before already this year.
Spike in antisemitic incidents reported after Manchester synagogue terror attack
Emily Sergeant
A new report has revealed that there was a rise in antisemitic incidents reported following the Manchester synagogue terror attack.
In case you need a reminder, the shocking knife and car attack took place on 2 October 2025 on Yom Kippur – the holiest day in the Jewish calendar – at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, and during the incident, two men sadly lost their lives during the attack – Adrian Daulby, 53, who was shot dead by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) while trying to stop the attacker from entering the synagogue, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, a worshipper who also helped stop the attacker.
The attacker was named as 35-year-old Jihad al Shamie – a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent who lived in Prestwich – who at the time was on bail for an alleged rape, before being shot dead by police.
In the wake of the attack, the Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors antisemitism in the UK, said 40 antisemitic incidents were reported on 2 October last year, and a further 40 were reported the day after – more than half of which involved direct reactions to the deadly attack.
These were the highest daily totals in 2025.
A spike in antisemitic incidents were reported after the Manchester synagogue terror attack / Credit: Google Maps | GMP
Three of the reported incidents on 2 and 3 October involved ‘face-to-face taunting and celebration of the attack to Jewish people’, according to the CST.
39 of the reported incidents were antisemitic social media posts referencing the attack, abusive responses to public condemnations of the attack from Jewish organisations and individuals, or antagonistic emails sent to Jewish people and institutions.
The Manchester synagogue attack was the first fatal antisemitic terror attack in the UK since the CST started recording incidents in 1984.
Overall, 3,700 anti-Jewish hate incidents were recorded in 2025 – which is said to be up 4% on the incidents recorded in the year before – and the CST revealed that this the second-highest annual total ever recorded.
There was also a spike in reported anti-Jewish hate incidents following the Bondi Beach killings in Sydney in December of last year too, the CST said.
Dave Rich, who is the director of police at CST, told Sky News in a statement: “We need a more robust approach to the kind of extremism that drives antisemitism.
“Jewish people in Britain used to be able to go about their lives without ever thinking about antisemitism, and now it’s the topic of conversation around every dinner table. That’s new.
“It feels for a lot of Jewish people like we’re in a different world now, the atmosphere is different, the climate has changed for Jewish people and the amount of antisemitism is part of that.”
Featured Image – GMP
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Trailer released for new romcom Finding Emily set and filmed all across Manchester
Emily Sergeant
The first trailer for a new romcom that’s set and filmed all across Manchester has been released.
The film, titled Finding Emily, tells the story of a lovesick musician, played by Spike Fearn, who meets his dream girl on a night out, but ends up with the wrong phone number, and so teams up with a driven psychology student, played by Angourie Rice, in a bid to find her.
Together, the unlikely duo spark a hilarious campus-wide frenzy that tests their own hearts and ambitions along the way.
The film – which is directed by Alicia MacDonald, and based on a screenplay written by Rachel Hirons – is produced by Working Title Films, is set in the fictional Manchester City University, and is due to be distributed by Focus Features and Universal Pictures across the UK and internationally this spring.
The talented ensemble cast groups together big names like Minnie Driver with rising stars like Ella Maisy Purvis, Yali Topal Margalith, and Kat Ronney, as well as other established actors including Timothy Innes and Nadia Parkes.
Filming took place in Manchester between August and September 2024.
The two and a half-minute trailer has been shared with the world today, and when we say it’s a Manc film, we mean it… we quite literally lost count of how many of our city’s famous locations can be spotted in just the trailer alone.
The trailer has been released for new romcom Finding Emily set and filmed in Manchester / Credit: Universal Pictures & Focus Features (via YouTube)
There’s everything from Manchester Central Library and Piccadilly Records, to Canal Street and the Gay Village, the Northern Quarter, the Crown & Kettle pub in Ancoats, and even the Emmeline Pankhurst statue in St Peter’s Square featured for all to see, alongside what’ll, presumably, be dozens of other famous locations.
Oh, and not to mention, if you keep your eyes peeled when watching the trailer, you can even see a small clip of Stockport band Blossoms playing a gig in there too.
Danny Jones -
8th December 2025 
