He had previously been refused bail, but the decision was overturned. He is due back in court on January 16th charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray after an incident in Liverpool’s Church Street.

The 25-year-old was arrested with his 19-year-old brother Andrew and Nadine Wilson, 27, from Huyton, Merseyside.

The footballer, who appeared before magistrates via videolink, has been held since 27 December and has missed Newcastle’s defeats at Chelsea and at home to Manchester City.

He was arrested in Liverpool in the early hours of Thursday and charged with common assault and affray. He was already on bail for two other alleged offences.

Magistrate Carol Myers told Liverpool Magistrates’ Court there was a risk of Barton offending again, adding: “I also have to consider the safety of the public – you lashed out indiscriminately.”

The 25-year-old has pleaded not guilty to a charge of actual bodily harm and now faces a trial, which is expected to start in June 2008.

If found guilty, he could face a sentence of up to five years in jail but he said: “I can go home and sleep at night and know I’ve done what I thought was right

Sky News breakfast host Holmes used the unacceptable C-word to describe Barton in the October edition of lads mag Maxim, causing some upset at his Newcastle club, who alerted Barton to the outburst.

Manchester United supporter Holmes, whose Five Live Saturday morning sports programme starts again in a fortnight, went on to say: “What is Joey Barton about. He’s an absolute animal, He’s the type of guy who’d eat his own young, he’d start a fight in an empty room. He’s an irritant.”

But Barton, recovering from a pre-season injury that has delayed his Premiership debut, shrugged off the attack from Holmes, whom he has never met. He said only that it would make it interesting when their paths eventually cross.

A friend of Barton’s said: “It’s pathetic. Holmes takes himself very seriously as a presenter but he is trying to show off for the benefit of the magazine who are doing the interviewing. He’s just trying to be outrageous for their sake.

“Joey hardly knows who he is. He mixes him up with the astrologer Russell Grant.”

Barton was due to answer bail today but was rebailed until August 2 while police make further inquiries.

The 24-year-old, capped once for England, was first arrested in May while a player for his previous club Manchester City.

It is alleged he attacked his then team mate Dabo, 30, during a training session at the club’s training complex in Carrington, south Manchester.

Barton was arrested, spoken to by police and bailed while they made further inquiries to find out what happened.

The player was suspended by Manchester City after the incident, and sold by the club to Newcastle last month in a £5.8million deal.