Laurence Fox granted retrial in libel case over 'racist' claim

Laurence Fox's libel claim after he was called a racist on social media should be reconsidered at a retrial, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

The actor-turned-politician's libel counter-claim was originally dismissed during a civil case last year in which he was successfully sued and ordered to pay £180,000 for calling former charity trustee Simon Blake and drag artist Crystal "paedophiles" in a row on X.

Mr Fox had called for a boycott of Sainsbury's over the chain marking Black History Month and was called "a racist" by the pair, as well as by broadcaster Nicola Thorp, before he responded with the "paedophile" tweets.

The Court of Appeal also rejected his appeal over the "paedophile" posts.

But the court halved the damages Mr Fox was ordered to pay.

In April 2024, High Court judge Mrs Justice Collins Rice ruled in favour of now-Stonewall chief executive Mr Blake and the ex-RuPaul's Drag Race UK contestant Crystal, whose real name is Colin Seymour, and ordered he pay them £90,000 each in damages.

The judge dismissed Mr Fox's counter-claims against them and Ms Thorp's tweets accusing him of racism.

Mr Fox subsequently challenged this decision at the Court of Appeal, where his lawyers described the decision as "plainly wrong".

On Friday, Lord Justice Dingemans, Lady Justice Elisabeth Laing and Lord Justice Warby ruled in Mr Fox's favour on his counter-claims and level of damages.

Lord Justice Warby said the tweets describing Mr Fox as a racist caused serious harm to his reputation and his libel claim should be reconsidered at a retrial.

He also reduced the amount of damages Mr Fox was ordered to pay to Mr Blake and Mr Seymour to £45,000, with Lord Justice Dingemans describing the previous sums as "manifestly excessive".

Lord Justice Warby said: "Having reflected on the arguments and revisited the written materials presented to us I have however concluded that the judge's approach was in some respects wrong in law in ways that are material to the outcome."

However the Court of Appeal dismissed Mr Fox's bid to overturn the finding that he had libelled Mr Blake and Mr Seymour.

After the hearing on Friday, Mr Fox, who is leader of the Reclaim Party, said he believed his case "is a fight worth fighting".

"We don't want to live in a country where conversations and careers are destroyed and shut down by that most appalling of slurs," he said.

"I hope now, in fact I know now, that people will think twice before making that horrible allegation again.

"I was cancelled entirely from the job I love, and I still love and I hope to do again, overnight, so I am so grateful for this outcome and I hope it plays a part in putting free speech exactly back where it belongs, at the cornerstone of any free society."