Laurence Fox libel case over ‘racist’ claim to face retrial, Court of Appeal rules

Laurence Fox’s libel claim after he was called a racist on social media is set to face a retrial, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

The actor-turned-activist was successfully sued by now-Stonewall chief executive Simon Blake and drag artist Crystal over a row on social media platform X.

Mr Fox, 47, called Mr Blake and the former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant, whose real name is Colin Seymour, “paedophiles” in an exchange about a decision by Sainsbury’s to mark Black History Month in October 2020.

Mr Fox called for a boycott of the supermarket and was called “a racist” by the men, as well as by broadcaster Nicola Thorp, before he responded with the “paedophile” tweets which led to the libel claims.

In two judgments in 2024, Mrs Justice Collins Rice ruled in favour of Mr Blake and Mr Seymour, and said Mr Fox should pay them £90,000 each in damages.

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

Mr Fox challenged this decision at the Court of Appeal in London, where his lawyers described the previous judge’s decision as “plainly wrong”.

And in a decision on Friday, Lord Justice Dingemans, Lady Justice Elisabeth Laing and Lord Justice Warby ruled in Mr Fox’s favour on his counter-claims and the level of damages.

Lord Justice Warby said that 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: “I am acutely aware of the need for this court to respect the function of the trial judge, and show due restraint.

“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.”

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

Following the decision, Mr Fox said in a video posted on X: “This has been a long and sometimes very dark five years.

“I believe, and I continue to believe from the bottom of my heart, this 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.

“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.”