Laurence Fox suing man who called him ‘racist’ on social media

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Laurence Fox is taking legal action against a man who called him a “racist” on social media, the High Court has heard.

The actor-turned-politician is suing Mukhtar Ali Yassin for libel over a row on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A hearing in London on Wednesday heard that Mr Fox is suing over four tweets sent during the exchange in May last year.

Ben Gallop, representing Mr Fox, told the court that Mr Yassin had made “seriously defamatory allegations of racism against my client that are bare comments”.

Mr Yassin is defending the claim.

Judge Mrs Justice Collins Rice ruled that a hearing should take place to decide whether the posts were statements of fact or opinion, and what should be included in any future trial.

Neither Mr Fox nor Mr Yassin was present in court on Wednesday, with the preliminary hearing to be held at a later date.

It comes two days after the same judge ruled that Mr Fox libelled two people – former Stonewall trustee Simon Blake and former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Crystal – by calling them “paedophiles” on X in October 2020.

Mrs Justice Collins Rice said on Monday that Mr Fox’s allegations, made during an exchange about a decision by Sainsbury’s to mark Black History Month, were “seriously harmful, defamatory and baseless”.

In the same judgment, she dismissed counter-claims brought by Mr Fox against Mr Blake, Crystal, whose real name is Colin Seymour, and broadcaster Nicola Thorp, after they described him as “a racist”.

Mr Fox, who founded the Reclaim Party, indicated following the decision that he plans to appeal.