Who is Michael Barton and what did he do?

Michael Barton was jailed in 2006 for the racist murder of Anthony Walker. 

Here’s everything we know about the killer, and where he is now.

Anthony’s mother, Dr Gee Walker, felt “betrayed” after

Who is Michael Barton and what did he do? 

Michael Barton was jailed for 18 years in 2006 for his role in the murder of Anthony Walker.

Barton, 17 at the time, together with cousin Paul Taylor, then 20, racially abused black teenager Anthony before they brutally attacked him in a Liverpool, in 2005. 

Anthony and his cousin Paul encountered Michael Barton at a bus stop, who threatened to stab them both.

They walked to another bus stop, but Barton and Taylor had followed them in a car before ambushing them.

At the trial, Barton denied killing Anthony but was found guilty of murder, and Taylor admitted his part in the killing.

Former footballer Joey Barton, Michael’s brother, came under fire in November 2023, after he said on a podcast that Michael had “lost 17 years of his life” due to his cousin’s actions, and described the brutal attack as a “scrap”. 

Who was Anthony Walker? 

Anthony Walker was an 18-year-old A-level student who was murdered by Michael Barton and Barton’s cousin, Paul Taylor, on July 30, 2005, in Liverpool.

Anthony lived with his parents, Gee Walker and Steve Walker, his two sisters, and his brother in Huyton, Liverpool. 

On the night of the racist attack, Anthony had been babysitting his nephew with his girlfriend Louise Thompson and cousin Marcus Binns.

During the attack, Taylor delivered an ice-axe blow to Anthony’s head, and he tragically died the next morning, by which case the assailants had fled to Amsterdam.

Where is Michael Barton now?

Michael Barton was sentenced to 17 years and eight months in prison for the murder of Anthony Walker. 

As he neared the end of his sentence, Barton took his first steps towards release after moving to the open-air prison HMP Thorn Cross, in Cheshire.

It is thought that Barton has since been released, but it is not known where he is now. 

In 2016 he had a year cut from his sentence, which left Anthony’s mother, Dr Gee Walker, feeling “betrayed”.

Dr Walker said: “They promised me 18 years, a year for each year my son lived.

“If the justice system makes a promise and can’t keep it, what hope is there for us?

“When the judge passed a sentence of life, we are the ones who are sentenced to a life of ‘what?’, or ‘how?’

“Our justice system is the laughingstock of the world. Life definitely doesn’t mean life.

“But I choose to forgive because living a life of hate is so destructive.”