"He targeted individuals and it affects their life."
Narinder Kaur slammed Joey Barton after he avoided an immediate prison sentence for a campaign of online abuse targeting Jeremy Vine and others.
The disgraced former footballer was given a six-month jail term, suspended for 18 months, after being found guilty of sending grossly offensive messages to Jeremy Vine, and football pundits Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward.
Narinder was a guest on the Anything Goes with James English podcast and spoke about the outcome, criticising it.
She said: “Another one who gets away with it. He didn’t get a prison sentence. I think these people think, ‘It’s just a tweet’.”
Highlighting the effect it has on victims, the broadcaster continued:
“He targeted individuals and it affects their life. That’s not right. That’s going to tar you.
“That’s going to bring unwanted attention to you. It’s not right.”
Narinder also dismissed Joey Barton’s suggestion that he had been treated unfairly by the justice system.
She said: “You either believe in total freedom of speech, or you believe in laws.
“We’re a civilised society. We have laws in this country. There is a legal line.”
Narinder Kaur issued a final warning aimed at Barton and others who criticise legal accountability.
She added:
“People like Joey Barton think they’re above the law and when they get caught, they say it’s ‘political persecution’.”
“Stop it. Just take account.”
Barton targeted the three victims on 12 occasions between early January and mid-March 2024, sending messages prosecutors said were intended to cause distress and anxiety.
The abuse intensified after Jeremy Vine publicly challenged Barton’s behaviour on X, prompting further grossly offensive posts directed at the broadcaster.
The Crown Prosecution Service authorised 12 charges of sending grossly offensive electronic communications.
Barton pleaded not guilty at Liverpool Crown Court in March 2025, leading to a trial.
In November 2025, a jury found him guilty on six counts, including two relating to messages sent to Aluko and Ward and four involving Vine. He was cleared of the remaining six charges.
At sentencing in December 2025, Barton received a suspended six-month custodial sentence.
He had already paid £110,000 in damages to Vine over previous defamatory posts, plus more than £200,000 in legal and recovery costs.
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