Calls for Joey Barton domestic abuse trial to resume

Prosecutors have asked judges to order that the trial of former footballer Joey Barton over domestic abuse allegations should resume.

Criminal proceedings against him were paused in October 2022.

Mr Barton was accused of assaulting his wife Georgia in a drunken row but the case was adjourned after Ms Barton retracted her allegations.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is now appealing against the decision at the High Court in London.

Mr Barton, who played for teams including Manchester City, Newcastle United and French side Marseille during his career, was manager of Bristol Rovers at the time of the trial and alleged assault.

He was accused of grabbing his wife by the throat and kicking her in the head during a row outside their home in Kew, south-west London, where they had been with two other couples on 2 June 2021.

He denied a charge of assault by beating after Ms Barton was allegedly left with a golf ball-sized bruise on her forehead and a bleeding nose.

But Wimbledon Magistrates' Court heard in March 2022 that Ms Barton wrote to prosecutors a month before the scheduled trial to claim that she was injured accidentally when friends intervened in an argument between the pair, having both drunk "four or five bottles of wine".

She was not due to be called as a prosecution witness during the trial over fears she would give an untruthful account of events, but lawyers for Mr Barton said that this would leave him at a disadvantage as it meant she could not be questioned over inconsistencies in her evidence.

District Judge Andrew Sweet adjourned the case and paused criminal proceedings in October 2022, claiming it would "be unfair for Mr Barton to be tried".

However, barristers are now saying a fair trial is "possible".

Tom Little KC, representing the DPP, said that pausing proceedings was a "last resort" and the case should be allowed to resume.

Simon Csoka KC, representing the former footballer, said prosecutors made a "deliberate decision" to ask police not to speak to Ms Barton about her evidence and that refusing to interview or call her as a witness was an "unfair tactic".

But, Tom Little KC, representing the DPP, said in written submissions: "The prosecution, consistent with its policy on prosecuting domestic abuse cases, had to strike a sensitive and careful balance between the expressed interests of Georgia Barton and the public interest in prosecuting cases of alleged domestic violence."

Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Saini will give their judgment at a later date.

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