Joey Barton tells court he is victim of ‘political prosecution’

Joey Barton arriving at Liverpool Crown Court (Peter Byrne/PA)

Former footballer Joey Barton has told a jury he believes he is the victim of a “political prosecution” and denied he sent alleged grossly offensive social media posts to “get clicks and promote himself”.

Barton, 43, is said by the Crown to have “crossed the line between free speech and a crime” with tweets about broadcaster Jeremy Vine and female TV football pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.