Joey Barton’s rants on Twitter almost resulted in him being prosecuted for contempt.   The midfielder for Queens Park Rangers tweeted his thoughts last Friday about the racism row surrounding John Terry. Barton who has over 1.2 million followers, tweeted when the trial was active, which is a potential criminal offence. This sent ripples through Twitter sphere, sparking rumour that he will be facing contempt charges.

The law on contempt, as enacted in 1981, places the burden on the publisher not to cause a substantial risk of serious prejudice to active proceedings – "active" being as soon as someone is arrested, or a warrant is issued for their arrest.

The footballer, who is not scared of speaking his mind, and has portrayed himself as a martyr for freedom of speech, was saved only by the fact that the trial will be held at a magistrate’s court with no jury.

The attorney general, Dominic green has decided not to take action in this instance.  It would be harder to sway the justices and district judges than that of a jury.

David Banks, Media Law Journalist for The Guardian, suggests that it is only a matter of time before tweeters affect major court cases in the UK.

 Listen to the extended interview with David Banks