Joey Barton calling broadcaster Jeremy Vine a “bike nonce” on social media did have a defamatory meaning, a High Court judge has ruled.
The BBC Radio and Channel 5 presenter is suing the former footballer for libel and harassment over 14 online posts, including where he branded Vine a “big bike nonce” and a “pedo defender” on X, formerly Twitter.
Earlier this month, at a preliminary hearing, Justice Steyn was asked to decide the “natural and ordinary” meanings of the posts and whether they were statements of fact or opinion, as well as several other early issues in the case. On Friday, the judge ruled that 11 of the posts could defame Vine.
She said: “The strong impression gained by the assertion the claimant is known as ‘aka’ ‘bike nonce’, followed immediately by the further assertion that he is known as, again, ‘aka’ ‘pedo defender’, is that the term ‘nonce’ was being used in its primary meaning to allege the claimant has a sexual interest in children.
“While I do not consider that the hypothetical reader, who would read the post quickly and move on, would infer a causative link, ie that the claimant defends paedophiles because he shares the same propensity, the juxtaposition of the words ‘nonce’ and ‘pedo’ is striking and would reinforce the impression that the former was used in the sense of ‘paedophile’.
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“The reader would have understood that the word ‘bike’ was a meaningless aspect of the accusation, serving only as an indication that this was a label attached to the claimant, who was known as a cyclist, without detracting from the operative word ‘nonce’.”
A High Court judge has ruled Barton's 'bike nonce' jibe defamatory (Pixel8000)On May 9, Vine’s barrister, Gervase de Wilde, told the hearing in London that the abuse began after Barton’s comments on women, particularly in the media and involved in football, starting from the end of 2023. Following a social media post where Barton compared female pundits Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward to serial killers Fred and Rose West, Vine questioned the comments and whether the former footballer had a brain injury.
This resulted in Barton launching a “calculated and sustained attack on Vine” in January this year, Vine's barrister said. Barton published several posts over the following days to his 2.8 million followers and began using “#bikenonce” on X, which led to it trending on the platform, the court was told.
Vine's barrister said that the posts contained “clear references to (Vine) having a sexual interest in children” and that the word “nonce” had “an irreducible, defamatory meaning”. William McCormick KC, for Mr Barton, stated the posts contained “vulgar abuse” but did not libel Vine and represented “someone who is posting in the heat of the moment”.
Referring to a post published on January 8, which said Vine was “aka bike nonce”, McCormick said in written submissions that the phrase was an “obvious attempt at humorous abuse of Vine”. But discussing another post which included the phrase “bike nonce”, Justice Steyn said: “In my judgment, the hypothetical ordinary reasonable reader would understand the post as taunting, scorning and ridiculing the claimant for his alleged proclivity.
“The jocular tone might be seen by the ordinary reasonable reader as in bad taste, given the subject matter, but it would not lead them to understand that no allegation of having a sexual interest in children was seriously being made. Nor would the reader perceive it as meaningless abuse ‘shouted’ in the heat of the moment, as there is nothing in the post that would give that impression.”
During his football career Barton played for teams including Manchester City, Newcastle United and French side Marseille, before managing English Football League sides Fleetwood Town and Bristol Rovers.
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