Joey Barton is the latest celebrity to face a Twitter backlash pic: Michael Kjaer

Joey Barton is at it again. This time the QPR midfielder is offering himself as a martyr at the altar of free speech, following news that the Attorney General is investigating comments he made on Twitter about Chelsea defender John Terry, ahead of Terry’s trial for allegedly racially abusing an opponent.

Defending his right to ‘freedom of speech’, he tweeted yesterday: “I will gladly go to jail for a month, in the name of free speech … Make me a martyr”.

To say Barton is outspoken would be like describing Robespierre as quite enthusiastic. Twitter is the choice medium for his invective, where his interventions have oscillated between literary and vitriolic, lilting from the coarse to the sublime: unfailingly hilarious, although at times you suspect in spite of, rather than due to, the author’s intent.

Alongside quotes from Nietzsche, saying that the FA is an ‘Orwellian institution’, and bold declarations of his working-class politics, you get the occasional less-than-edifying nuggets (such as him beseeching Madonna to “get ur fanny away” at last night’s Superbowl performance).

A passionate man who wears his heart on his sleeve, 29 year-old Barton eschews the routine self-restraint of his contemporaries. Compared with today’s anaemic fare of bland footballers (cue Stevie G on Match of the Day, brow furrowed as he struggles to grasp at anything more insightful than: “Yeah…errr…the lads gave 110 per cent”) he provides entertainment and a talking point at least. And he is admirably vocal when it comes to points of principle, such as defending his own honour and that of his team-mates.

But this time he may have gone one step too far. And worse, on a false premise. For while Barton prides himself as a rebel railing against the establishment, he has shown himself ignorant to a claim that competes with freedom of speech: that of the right to a fair trial, one of the cardinal principles of British justice.

Broadcast or publication of material that creates a serious risk of prejudice to an active court case (not at a purely investigatory stage, as with Barton now) is a criminal offence under statutory contempt laws – and punishable by up to two years in prison.

This is a fact lost on many of those who use what is in effect a medium of broadcast each time they log on to social media. But whether media professional or not, the same rules apply: ignorance is no defense in law.

Barton- himself sentenced to 6 months imprisonment for assaulting a teenager in 2008- should of all people understand the importance of a fair trial in a case that carries a custodial sentence. In standing up for an erroneous cause, he has made a forgivable fool of himself – all the more comic given his stridency.

Rather than make a stern example of him, the Attorney General would do well to use this incident to make clear to the public the indispensability of the right to a fair trial, and the gravity of prejudice that can be caused unwittingly through social media.

And before his next 140-character commentary on current affairs, between classic references and punch-ups, it would do Joey Barton no harm to have a skim-read of ‘Contempt Law For Dummies’.

pic: Adrian

Both our local teams in action last night dropped points in vital league matches in the Championship.

Miserable night for Lions as Watford goals sink Millwall

Goals from Watford FC’s Troy Deeney and Joe Garner were enough to confound a miserable night for Millwall FC at the New Den last night.

The bitter change in the weather did nothing to alter the fortunes of the South London side as they continued their run of bad form to stay just five points clear of the relegation zone.

The Lions suffered the defeat to a ruthless Watford side still buoyed after their impressive but narrow defeat in the FA Cup against Tottenham at the weekend.

A tidy finish by Deeny from the edge of the area put the away side in front in the first half. Deeny was denied in the second half only to see his rebounded shot sent in by Garner to double the advantage.

Henderson then missed a penalty for the home side adding to the home side’s dismal performance, which manager Kenny Jackett described as “disappointing”.

For Millwall it was a missed opportunity to put themselves into a safe position by leapfrogging their opponents and going eight points clear of the drop zone after Doncaster, Nottingham Forest and Coventry all dropped points. They now slip to 20th in the league.

Watford FC now occupy the 15th spot having ended their current run of three without a win.

Millwall had earlier confirmed the signing of Andrew Keogh from Wolves on a two-and-half-year deal, and the permanent capture of Shane Lowry from Aston Villa.

Millwall next game is against east London rivals and League leaders West Ham at 12:30pm on Saturday, Feb 4.

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Palace held at home to Seasiders

Ashley Barnes’ 74th minute penalty was enough for visiting side Brighton Albion to hold Crystal Palace to a 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park last night.

Palace had scored only 10 minutes earlier through a penalty converted by Chris Martin.

Both Palace winger Wilfried Zaha and defender Nathaniel Clyne started the match, despite rumours of them being targeted by Premier League clubs on the final day of the transfer window.

Zaha played a prominent role in the game and minutes after being booked for reacting angrily to a tackle from Ashley Barnes, he won a penalty for Palace. Referee Stuart Atwell awarded the spot kick after Will Buckley brought down the 20-year-old winger in the box.

Clyne’s biggest contribution to the match came when Buckley, last weekend’s FA Cup hero, made up for conceding the earlier penalty by winning one at the other end after he tumbled under the centre back’s tame challenge.

Either team could have snatched a goal to secure three points, and Brighton pushed late on for a winner but Palace keeper Speroni once again proved his worth to the Eagles after saving well from Calderon in the dying minutes.

Premier League side Bolton Wonderers were said to have offered £7m for Zaha, but the club denied any approach. Zaha’s remaining at Palace “was never in any doubt” manager Dougie Freedman said after the match.

“I’ve got a fantastic board which really backs me and every decision I make”.

Brighton manager Gus Poyet was less than impressed with his side’s outing: “I’m not happy with a point because we tried our best and I thought we had better opportunities”.

The draw was a decent result for the home side, but they will be happier that they managed to keep hold of their key players for the rest of the campaign.

The Croydon-based side are still looking to find some form after an inconsistent season which leaves them in 15th in the league, whilst Brighton are sitting above them in 10th place.

Palace’s next game sees a tough away trip to Middlesborough on Saturday, Feb 4.

Written by Daniel O’Donnell and Leon Puplett

pic: Ingy the Wingy(Flickr)ED

A Notts County footballer has been charged with sexual assault yesterday as a result of an alleged incident that occurred in Croydon last month, according to the football club’s website.

Striker Lee Hughes, who has been with the club since 2009, is suspected to have been involved in an incident with a woman on December 3. Police were called to the Notts County team hotel in Croydon on that day, the night before the team’s FA Cup match against Sutton United.

The Metropolitan Police said the following in a statement released at the time of the arrest: “Police were called at approximately 11.10pm on Saturday 3 December to a hotel in Purley Way, Croydon, following an allegation of sexual assault.”

Hughes was arrested on the night but later released on bail.

A statement on the club’s website said: “Notts County can confirm that striker Lee Hughes has, on Monday, been charged in relation to an alleged incident in December of last year.

“The club will be making no further comment on this matter.”

Hughes played the entire FA cup tie for Notts County against Stevenage on Saturday and has recently signed a contract extension with the club.

Tower Hamlets children to take part in Olympics

Students from four Tower Hamlets schools will have the chance to take part in the biggest event in the world this year: the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Children from Langdon Park School, Marner Primary School, Manorfield Primary School and Marian Richardson Primary School were among those who took part in an audition process aimed at children aged between seven and nine and 11-13 years. In total, 1,650 children auditioned for the London 2012 Ceremonies Mass Movement Team, performing large-scale choreography and dance routines.

More than 900 children will be selected over the coming weeks to perform in the ceremony on July 27. They will be performing in front of an estimated one billion people worldwide expected to watch the ceremonies and a further 80,000 in the stadium.

The students will form the under-16s volunteer performer cast for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies. They have been selected from schools in the six host boroughs that are engaged in the official London 2012 education programme, Get Set.

Tower Hamlets Mayor Lutfur Rahman said: “Taking part in the Olympic opening ceremony is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and its fantastic that young people from Tower Hamlets will have a starring role in the ceremony.”

Mary Todd, Headteacher from Marner Primary School in Bow, said: “When we first signed up to the Get Set network, we had no idea that we might have the chance to be involved in the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

“It is such a huge opportunity for our children and staff and will bring the Olympics alive for the whole of the school community. We are a school that celebrates sport and sporting achievement and so the Olympics are hugely important to us. To have them taking place just down the road and having such direct involvement is a rare and wonderful opportunity!”

George Elich Pic: Agnes Bel

A Tower Hamlets resident’s dream of being part of the Olympic Games will be made a reality.

George Elich, 25, who has learning difficulties, will take part in one of the two biggest shows in the world this year, the Olympic Games Opening or Closing Ceremony.

The young man from Bow has been selected to be a Ceremonies Volunteer Performer after getting through three rounds of auditions.

The successful applicants had to show they had a real sense of rhythm and good drumming skills.

Elich told EastLondonLines: “I am really delighted to be part of such a great event. I am a big sports fan and I enjoy performing and expressing myself in front of others.

“It is such a great opportunity to be a volunteer at the opening or closing ceremony! My family, my parents, everyone is really proud of me. In a few years, I will be able to say ‘yeah, I was there!’”

He has been a resident of Grove Road, a supported living service for adults with learning difficulties based in Bow, since March 2011.

The residence is run by disability charity Livability and is part of the charity’s Lifestyle Choices scheme. Turning 26 on February 7, Elich is the youngest of the five residents.

He will now start a series of rehearsals to get ready for the event. From April, there will be two to three rehearsal sessions per week, lasting up to four hours.

Though he will be performing in front of an estimated one billion people worldwide expected to watch the ceremonies, and a further 80,000 in the stadium, Elich is full of confidence. He said: “I am not scared. I am not frightened at all.”

Perri Shakes-Drayton Pic: Tower Hamlets Press

Olympic hopeful, Perri Shakes Drayton, has thrown her support behind her home borough’s city bid.

The 23 year old 400m specialist, joins the likes of the City of London, Canary Wharf Group, Tower of London and the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, the oldest manufacturing company in the UK, who have all pledged to give Tower Hamlets’ bid their full backing.

As part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebration Tower Hamlets is competing against 26 other towns, including Reading, Middlesbrough and Luton, to become the UK’s newest city.

Drayton, who lives in Bow, just a short dash from the Olympic Park, attended primary and secondary school in the borough and continues to train at Tower Hamlets and Victoria Park Athletics Club based in Mile End.

Drayton said: “Tower Hamlets is where I grew up, work and live and I would be delighted to see it become the UK’s next city. The place is full of life, culture and excitement, which are components that make great cities and part of the reason why I love Tower Hamlets and why I am happy to lend my support to its bid.”

Alongside attaining a degree in Sports Science at Brunel University, the former Bishop Challoner pupil broke world records when she won two bronze medals in both the 400m hurdles and 400m at the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona.

Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, a key instigator in the city bid, said: “I am thrilled to have Perri’s support for the bid as she is a great ambassador for the borough.  2012 is an exciting year for Tower Hamlets with the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Diamond Jubilee celebrations and of course the announcement of city bid competition to look forward to.”

If successful, the borough will join both Westminster and the City of London and become the third official city in London.  According to the Council website, this will enable Tower Hamlets to be part of a group of boroughs that reflect the political, economic and historical centre of both London and the UK, attracting more visitors and boosting inward investment.

Though it is not the only borough in London to be applying for city status, with Croydon also in the running.

The Queen is planned to announce the winner early this year.

Olympic site, Pic: EG Focus

A new body that will control the future of the Olympic Legacy site – incuding areas in Hackney and Tower Hamlets – is one step closer to creation after the London Assembly voted unanimously in favour of its proposal.

The Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), which will require an act of Parliament to be established, will be the authority responsible for an area earmarked for development that is described by Mayor Boris Johnson as ‘London’s single most important regeneration project for the next 25 years’.

The area covers land in the boroughs of Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham and Waltham Forest including the Olympic Park, currently the responsibility of the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC).

Direct responsibility for the MDC will be vested in the Mayor of London.

London Assembly deputy chair Dee Doocey said:

“The creation of a Mayoral Development Corporation sets a clear structure to deliver… regeneration and places responsibility for it firmly in the hands of the Mayor.”

Significantly the MDC will have much greater powers than those currently held by the OPLC. It will be the legal planning authority for the area, giving it the right to decide on any future developments and regeneration schemes.

However unlike its predecessor, the MDC’s powers would extend over residential areas, such as Hackney Wick in Hackney and Bromley-by-Bow North in Tower Hamlets.

During the London Assembly meeting concerns were raised about the body’s accountability to local residents.

Green Party Assembly Member Darren Johnson called for assurances that planning processes are respected in the event of council planning powers being transferred to such a body.

He said of the proposals: “The Mayor must ensure that local residents and community groups can make representations to planning committee meetings, otherwise it could turn out to be less open than a normal council committee.

“[He] should also take the opportunity to involve the local community in ongoing dialogue about the wider plans, going beyond the usual consultation process to benefit from their energy and ideas at an early stage.”

Once legislation is passed, the body will come into formal existence on 1^st April this year and planning powers will come into effect from August. A board headed by the mayor will be established, with a representative from each of the boroughs as will a planning committee. While it is not yet clear who will sit on the board, sources indicate members could be appointed by the Mayor of London.

A spokesman for Hackney Council said:

“The MDC must work very closely with Hackney and the other host boroughs when it is formed.  We are very keen to encourage the MDC to fully engage local people and businesses in developing its regeneration plans.”

Any planning decision made by the board will be subject to all relevant planning legislation.

Under the terms of the Localism Act 2011, the Mayor of London has the power to designate any area of land in Greater London as a mayoral development area.

In the past, the actions of such planning quangos that span several boroughs have caused controversy.

In December last year EastLondonLines reported how the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC), a planning authority that covers a large region of east London including Tower Hamlets, gave the green the light to a 12-storey tower on Fish Island.

Local residents opposed to the development slammed what they called a “travesty” and complained of being “gagged” in the planning process.

Even Tower Hamlets council, also opposed, was overruled by the ultimate planning power of the corporation. There was anger that politicians from other boroughs were effectively making decisions for boroughs they did not represent.

But fears of a lack of accountability have been downplayed by the Mayor’s office. They insisted the Mayor, as head of the MDC board, will be directly accountable to all Londoners.

The Olympic Park, pic: EG Focus

London’s leading scientists have warned that high pollution levels in Hackney and Tower Hamlets could  jeopardize the health of Olympic competitors.

High pollution levels in the surrounding Olympic boroughs have become an increasing concern for competing athletes.

Competitors can breathe in up to twenty times more air than an inactive person, making them at risk to illness and impaired performance times.

Dr Ben Barratt, an analyst at London Air Quality Network said: “Hackney and Tower Hamlets pollution levels will be dictated by the weather. If there are long periods of warm sunny weather and easterly winds, then the athletes could be at risk.”

Endurance athletes, such as cyclists and long distance runners are more likely to be affected, as they are exposed to the high levels of pollution for a longer period of time.

Dr Frank Kelly, professor of environmental health at King’s College London, said: “If endurance sporting events are held on a day when London’s pollution is high, some athletes may not perform to their best ability and some may feel temporally unwell.”

Kelly went on to explain, that air pollution has a “powerful” effect on an athlete’s airways, causing them to “constrict and become temporarily inflamed”.  If pollution levels do not decrease again, then he states the effects will be only be temporary, and the athlete’s lungs should return to normal within 18-24 hours.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, has been criticised for not taking enough action to reduce the pollution level in time for the summer games. With just over five months to go, the Mayor has yet to devise a pollution policy specifically for the Olympics.

The London games have no plans in place like its predecessors, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which saw the Chinese Government issue a blanket ban over half the cars in the city and shut down polluting industries, estimated at a cost of £6bn.

Simon Birkett, Founder and Director of Clean Air in London, said: “The Mayor should ban the most polluting diesel vehicles from the most polluted parts of London during the Games and keep an inner scheme in place as a legacy.  The longer he delays, the more disruption he’ll cause.

“We were promised the greenest Games ever.  London should deliver it by leading the world in tackling air pollution as we did after the Great Smog of 1952.”

However, not all people are as concerned over the risk Hackney and Tower Hamlet’s pollution levels will impose. Lewisham Olympic hopeful, James Ellington said: “I’ve been born and bred in London and have never experienced any hindrance. I don’t think that Hackney’s or Tower Hamlets pollution will affect anything.”

Lewisham's James Ellington gearing up for Olympic glory.Pic: Solent/Jamesellington.net

Lewisham Olympic hopeful James Ellington yesterday secured a sponsorship deal with British toiletries company King of Shaves, after his unconventional approach of attracting a sponsor on eBay was unsuccessful.

The 26-year-old sprinter contacted King of Shaves when his dreams of winning a medal seemed severely jeopardised after the £32,500 highest eBay bid turned out to be a hoax at the end of the 10-day auction that closed on December 17.

Ellington, currently ranked 55th in the world for the men’s 200m, told EastLondonLines: “I’m over the moon. King of Shaves are perfect for me, they’re such an up-and-coming brand.”

He explained that although his life had not changed very much since December, having secured the funding will finally allow him to train full-time and has given him more motivation to train longer and harder.

In order to be in the best shape possible at the start of the Olympics, the south Londoner will spend four weeks training in April in Orlando, Florida.

“The weather there is better for training than in Britain and I can be one hundred per cent focused there,” he said.

King of Shaves will cover expenses that include travelling, hotels, nutrition, private medical costs and provide him with sports kit.

Ellington said he will wear the kit of the sponsor at all opportunities leading up to the Olympic Games.

Prior to his call for sponsorship on eBay, Ellington had been unable to compete for four years and missed out on important fundraising due to an injury. He is now back in top form however, striking gold for the British senior sprints squad in the 2011 European Team Championships

Pic; ELL

Controversy has arisen over an apparent resignation by Croydon Athletic FC from the Ryman Isthmian League after the club posted an official statement on their website confirming their withdrawal. The club has had many well-publicised problems and were handed a £7,500 fine and had points deducted before Christmas,  after an independent regulatory commission by the Football Association found financial irregularities breaching rules relating to payment to players in the 2009-10 season.  They have not played in the league since December 3, 2011.

However the secretary of the Ryman league told EastLondonLines they had not received notification of any such decision by the club.

Nick Robinson, secretary, said: “We have had no official statement. No club can resign from the league during the season, [they] could only apply for resignation at the end of the current season.”

He reiterated that the club still have until Friday’s deadline to come up with a viable plan of how they will stay in the league, and that the board would work with them once they had received the plan, which makes the club’s statement even more of a surprise.

He also stressed that despite Croydon Athletics’ announcement, nothing will be decided by the league until the board has discussed the decision at the proposed board meeting on January 26.

Problems  started back in 2009 when the then owner, Mazhar Majeed, was convicted over corruption charges in the cricket match-fixing scandal.

Despite many attempts, none of the clubs representatives were available for comment.