Laurence Fox fired by GB News after suspension for misogynistic rant as house is raided by police

Laurence Fox has been fired by GB News a week after an astonishing rant against a female journalist which sparked national uproar and reignited the debate about rampant misogyny in the UK.

The divisive former actor was widely criticised following the ugly outburst in which he asked about the political journalist Ava Evans “who would want to shag her?”

Following a week-long probe which involved crunch face-to-face talks with Fox on Friday, the channel finally sacked the controversial broadcaster on Wednesday.

Fellow GB News host Calvin Robinson was also fired, however an internal investigation into Dan Wootton is ongoing.

The news comes as police stormed Fox’s home over conspiring to commit criminal damage to ULEZ cameras and encouraging or assisting offences to be committed. The fired GB News host livestreamed officers searching and bagging up his possessions.

Scotland Yard confirmed a 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to ULEZ cameras and encouraging or assisting offences to be committed.

GB News said in a statement: “Laurence Fox and Calvin Robinson were both suspended last week pending internal investigations that have now concluded. As of today, GB News has ended its employment relationship with Laurence Fox and Calvin Robinson. The internal investigation into Dan Wootton continues.”

In a 10-minute video posted to Twitter/X, Robinson claimed there was a “civil war” raging at GB News, which he mocked as “the so-called home of free speech – no, no, no, not that speech”.

“We are not the first and we are not the last,” he said of his and Fox’s sacking, claiming the channel was “trying to push us out anyway”.

“There is a division, there is a civil war going on at GB News,” he said, adding: “There is a lot of people there that hate” certain presenters whom he described as “the truth-seekers” and “freedom fighters”.

Meanwhile, a GB News staffer told The Independent: “The removal of two shockjock conspiratorial presenters makes this a great day for GB News.

“Hopefully we can finally turn to producing more of the intellectually curious broadcasting that our viewers love to tune in to.”

Speaking for the first time about the incident last week, the chief executive of GB News said that he was “appalled” by the comments. Angelos Frangopoulos said that the remarks, on Dan Wootton Tonight “went well past the limits of acceptance”.

Fox, 45, and Wootton, 40, were both suspended in the wake of the comments in which the former actor described Evans as a “little woman”.

Fox, a father of two, said: “We’re past the watershed so I can say this… show me a single, self-respecting man that would like to climb into bed with that woman… ever… ever.

“That little woman has been fed... spoon-fed oppression day after day after day, starting with the lie about the gender pay gap.

“She’s sat there, and I’m going like, if I met you at a bar and that was like sentence three, chances of me just walking away are just huge,” he added, to a wry smile of amusement from show host Dan Wootton.

Mr Frangopoulos told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I was appalled by those comments they are not in keeping with the values with us as a business and obviously we took action immediately.

“…I was horrified by what was said….that comment should not have gone to air.”

The exchange took place on Dan Wootton Tonight in response to an earlier panel discussion on BBC Politics Live in which Ms Evans, a contributor, said a fellow guest’s suggestion of a minister for men to tackle male suicide “feeds into the culture war a little bit”.

Following the uproar on social media, Wootton apologised to Ms Evans before a further statement the following day in which he claimed his on-air smile was the result of “shock and surprise in an off-guard moment”.

“I should have intervened immediately to challenge offensive and misogynistic remarks,” he added.

However, Fox later doubled down on his rant, claiming to “stand by every word.”

On the criticism over his exchange with Wootton, he tweeted: “If a woman wants to go on television and belittle male suicide, she is totally within her rights to do so and not apologise, just as I am totally within my rights to say that I wouldn’t want to s*** a hyper offended 4th wave feminist and not apologise.... It’s called free speech.”

The 45-year-old Reclaim Party founder is a frequent provocateur; in 2020, he claimed an appearance on Question Time resulted in him being “cancelled from a 21-year acting career”.

Meanwhile, Wootton’s contract as a columnist for MailOnline was also terminated as the backlash continued to grow.

A spokesperson for DMG Media, the parent company of MailOnline, said: “Following events this week, DMG Media can confirm that Dan Wootton’s freelance column with MailOnline – which had already been paused – has now been terminated, along with his contract.”

Media regulator Ofcom has now launched an investigation after receiving 7,300 complaints over the programme.

Wootton was already suspended from his MailOnline column while the company investigated allegations that he used a fake identity to offer former colleagues money for sexual material – accusations he has strongly denied.But the events this week forced the decision by MailOnline to drop the 40-year-old anchor man, who reportedly received a lucrative six-figure salary from the two columns he wrote each week.

Wootton continues to wait on an internal investigation by GB News into this week’s show as his career hangs in the balance.