Real

Laurence Fox has been described as " an intelligent racist with an agenda" on the opening day of a libel trial with Two People he called paedophiles.

The Actor -turned-politician is being sued by ex-Stonewall trustee Simon Blake and drag artist Crystal over an online row in October 2020.

Mr Fox called Mr Blake and the ex-contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race - Real name Colin Seymour - " paedophiles".

He denies being a racist and claims he lost his acting agent over The Row .

The dispute followed a decision by Sainsbury's to celebrate Black History Month and provide a safe space for black employees.

After Mr Fox called for a boycott of the supermarket, he was described as " a racist" by Mr Blake and Mr Seymour , and by actress Nicola Thorp , in their own posts on Twitter, now known as X.

Mr Fox is counter-suing These Three people over their tweets, claiming they damaged his reputation.

Lorna Skinner KC, representing Mr Blake, Mr Seymour and Ms Thorp, said the three " honestly believed, and continue honestly To Believe , that Mr Fox is a racist".

In written submissions, the barrister said the 45-year-old " has made A Number of highly controversial statements about race".

She added: " If and to the extent that Mr Fox has been harmed in his reputation, it is his own conduct and not the claimants' comments on it that caused that harm. "

Ms Skinner highlighted several of Mr Fox's Social Media posts, including a June 2022 tweet of four pride flags arranged in The Shape of a swastika.

" Such a disgusting post could only be made by a complete ignoramus or an intelligent racist with an agenda. Mr Fox is the latter, " She Said .

Patrick Green KC, for Mr Fox, said in his written submissions that neither Mr Blake or Mr Seymour " has suffered any actual, Real -world consequences" due to The Actor 's tweets.

Instead, Mr Green said readers would have understood that Mr Fox's posts were a " retort to an allegation of racism" rather than a factual allegation.

He Said it was accepted that abuse had been sent to Mr Blake and Mr Seymour on the X platform, but that it had been from " trolls, a well-recognised species of Twitter user who have, at best, a ribald sense of humour and, at worst, deep personality disorders".

However, Mr Green said there was " little doubt that Mr Fox's reputation has actually suffered very considerably" Since October 2020, particularly in the mind of his former agent.

He continued: " The allegation of being 'a racist' will have been looked upon very seriously by many of Mr Fox's actual and potential Colleagues . . He is not a racist, he is a colour-blind liberal who dislikes racism, 'progressive' and identitarian politics. "

The Trial before Mrs Justice Collins Rice continues and is due to conclude next week with a decision expected at a later Date .

Source of news: bbc.com