Tbh, I’m surprised he was convicted. The tweets had to be “grossly offensive “, which sets the bar very high. We all know Barton is an opinionated, offensive knobhead of the highest order, but does he say anything worse than Farage or his cronies, even though he uses cruder, more basic language? He should learn that if you want to offend, be more polite and measured when doing so.
I read the headlines and thought the same initially, but then read the follow up posts and messages that he sent, particularly the ones to and about Vine, which were publicly calling him a *****phile. I'm no fan of Vine either, but I think that crossed a line. And let's face it....Barton has got away with being a nasty little **** for 20 years, so was overdue a comeuppance!
Is it bad that my immediate response to Tim Davie leaving the BBC is to dread how much worse the next **** is going to be? Almost tempted to put a tenner on Richard Tice being named next Director General
Wouldn't it be terrible if the venue turned out to be something which belongs in a Final Destination film...? please log in to view this image
I have my own concerns about the BBC not understanding the difference between impartiality and objectivity, but I would certainly support Auntie if they counter-sued Trump for repeatedly calling them 'fake news' - something that is far more slanderous / libelous, as opposed to accusing him of Sedition, which is patently proven!
Apparently it is too late to sue in the UK (has to be within a year) and can't sue in the US because the film wasn't shown there. So much for $1bn!
Trump doesn't care though. He has his victory by saying he will: that is all his base will hear and over time it will morph from 'going to sue' to 'he sued and won'. And it will be parroted by all the media news companies in the UK who compete with the Beeb. On a more serious note, I do think this entire episode - and more importantly how the BBC and Government manage it - carries an existential threat to the Corporation and with it a huge risk to independent journalism and public service broadcasting. Based on the last 72 hours of mismanagement and absence of any defence, I'm not hopeful for the outcome!
