Laurence Fox ordered to pay £180,000 after referring to two people as 'paedophiles'
Laurence Fox has been told to give £180,000 as compensation after he used social media to call two individuals "paedophiles."
The individual who used to work in the entertainment industry and is now involved in politics was taken to court by former Stonewall trustee Simon Blake and drag performer Crystal over a disagreement related to a certain matter on X. The case ended in favor of the plaintiffs.
Following a legal dispute of defamation in the High Court, he has been ordered to compensate each of them with a sum of £90,000.
During an argument about Sainsbury's honoring Black History Month in October 2020, Fox referred to Mr Blake and Crystal (also known as Colin Seymour, a previous participant in RuPaul's Drag Race) as "paedophiles."
During that time, the person who started the Reclaim Party made known his intention to not shop at the grocery store. He also tried to file a lawsuit against the duo, as well as Nicola Thorp who is a broadcaster, due to their social media posts which accused him of being discriminatory.
Earlier this year in January, Mrs Justice Collins Rice rejected Fox's opposition and ruled in support of Mr. Blake and Mr. Seymour.
The judge has given a decision where Fox needs to pay a sum of £180,000 as compensation.
The judge stated that Mr. Fox caused Mr. Blake and Mr. Seymour to experience an unfair and unnecessary public trial by accusing them of being pedophiles.
The statement made against them was completely untrue and unfounded. It caused immense harm and negative effects in their actual lives.
The judge mentioned that the award given to Mr Fox is not for the purpose of punishing him, but rather to compensate for the harm caused and bring back the balance that was disrupted because of the lies he told. He could have done more to mend the damage caused, but he failed to do so.
Mr. Blake and Mr. Seymour triumphed in their struggle for legal entitlements and are now eligible to receive the full justice that the law affords them.
Additionally, they have shown determination and ingenuity in their efforts to move forward with their lives and have received robust backing from their loved ones, colleagues and certain segments of the population and press to aid them in this process.
If Mr. Fox had picked weaker and less independent individuals, this award would have been way more significant.
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The court instructed Fox that they must not make identical or comparable accusations again, or else they could be penalized for disobeying the court's orders.
The judge additionally acknowledged the testimony of Mr. Blake and Mr. Seymour, who claimed that Fox's defamation was "clearly discriminatory towards the LGBTQ+ community."
During a court session in March, Lorna Skinner KC, representing Mr. Blake and Mr. Seymour, stated that Fox should compensate them with a sum of money in six-figures or more.
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Nevertheless, Patrick Green KC representing Fox stated that the initial amount for the compensation should range from £10,000 to £20,000. However, this amount could be significantly reduced as Fox has already apologized and there seemed to be no intention of malice from their side.
Fox made a statement before the ruling on Thursday in which he declared that the decision would be a license for bullies. He also expressed his hope that the win achieved by the other party would not last for long.
After everything was over, he shared his thoughts on X, commenting that the ruling was "unbelievable and almost comical."
He said, "It will be attractive."
The judge decided not to issue a directive that would require Fox to share a brief version of the decision on his personal social media account, which is followed by nearly 500,000 people.
In March's court hearing, Mr Green stated that there wasn't a necessity to share the verdict on Fox's social media as it was already the most notable case of defamation of the year.
According to Mr Green, the comments were withdrawn and an apology was issued promptly. Furthermore, it was evident to the general public at an early phase that the accusation lacked evidence.
