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Tuesday 6 October 2020

Free Speech Fans’ Legal Karma

Last year, taking a break from his unending quest to devise an acceptable intellectual justification for Islamophobic bigotry, Doug Murray The K set a lawyer on one of those Rotten Lefties™ who might have possibly suggested something allegedly defamatory about him, and later celebrated the result with his usual modest understatement.

Not looking forward to saying sorry

An apology from [Peter Jukes]. Spreading grotesque libels about people should not be cost-free. I have decided to take action to prevent this continuing. Thanks to [Mark Lewis]” he told anyone listening. Jukes had decided not to risk allowing an action to go to trial, only to find it going against him and landing him with an eye-watering bill for costs.


So it was clear that despite Murray being a champion of free speech, he was not averse to instructing lawyers once in a while. Even though his championing of free speech means he is a director of the Free Speech Union, domain of the loathsome Toby Young. Why that might be a little more interesting today is down to one of those Tobes has championed.


Toby Young has also cheered on those threatening litigation, one such being increasingly minor thesp Laurence Fox. When Fox forced actors’ union Equity to backtrack, he took to the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph to tell “Today saw an unlikely blow struck in the battle against groupthink and ideological conformity. The actors' union Equity apologised to Laurence Fox for calling him a ‘disgrace’ and urging its members to ‘denounce’ him”. Tobes has since championed Fox at every opportunity.


When dribbling bigot Mike Graham praised Fox’s Question Time appearance, there was Tobes to add “Agreed. Total hero. [Laurence Fox] smashed it tonight”. After Equity climbed down, he was there again. “Given the reaction of actors and their professional bodies to [Laurence Fox]’s victory yesterday, can we stop calling them ‘luvvies’? ‘Hate-ies’ would be more appropriate”. When Fox decided to form a new political party, he was there too.


‘Laurence Fox launching a new political party to fight the culture wars’ - Exciting news!” exclaimed Tobes. And only last Friday came the toe-curling pièce de résistance, as he proclaimed “Laurence Fox is less of a G&T-in-the-saloon-bar type, more an Aperol-Spritz-in-the-beach-bar man. If Nigel Farage is Terry Thomas, Laurence is David Niven”. Fox as David Niven? Fuck off. Just fuck right off. He wouldn’t reach to Niv’s ankles.


But then Fox had his social media meltdown, where he smeared three people as “paedophiles”, including Simon Blake of Stonewall. And Blake has wasted no time in moving to defend his reputation, as Pink News has reported, telling readers “Stonewall UK deputy chair Simon Blake has announced that he is suing Laurence Fox after the actor called him a ‘paedophile’ during a bizarre Twitter rant about Sainsbury’s”.

Mark Lewis. Again

Well, I did say his actions could prove expensive. Blake told his followers “I disagreed strongly with his view and I expressed that in a tweet … I feel strongly about this issue … In response, Mr Fox seriously defamed me and I have instructed Mark Lewis from Patron Law to sue for defamation”. What will the Free Speech Union have to say about that?

What goes around, comes around. And returns to bite the free speech brigade.


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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Blake reaching for his m'learned friends? Please let it be. I'm praying to the Almighty that Judge Cocklecarrot hands down something serious.

Anonymous said...

"Aperol-Spritz"?
Looks more like white cider fitz than that.

AndyC said...

Let's hope that any possible legal trouble doesnt interfere with the establishment of Fox's new political party.......Only kidding.

Anonymous said...

With some luck Blake will take him to the money launderette, spin wash him and throw him into a tumble dryer on maximum heat.

But it still wouldn't clean him enough to allow him into civilised company.

James said...

Like Elon Musk, Fox appears to be somebody who thinks that they are above the law when it comes to smears.


I hope FOX gets sent to the cleaners for his beyond stupid behaviour.

Ed said...

Fox might be ridiculous. Are his backers?

https://twitter.com/Strawbdwarf/status/1313515048829153280

Anonymous said...

Some rather selective editing!

What was said was

"I disagreed strongly with his view and I expressed that in a tweet. Whilst I regret the unnecessary language I used, which is not in line with the way I like to conduct myself, I feel strongly about this issue.

"In response Mr Fox seriously defamed me and I have instructed Mark Lewis from Patron Law to sue for defamation."

This puts a completely different slant on what happened, containing an admission of regret for using "unnecessary language".

Perhaps if you let your readers know what that language was we may be more clear about why Mr Fox reacted badly to it. Cocklecarrot will be given this information should it come to court, which I somehow doubt.

But judging by the appalling language used here, objectivity not a strong suit here.


Nigel Stapley said...

@anonymous @19:29:

Calling someone a racist twat when he clearly is isn't defamatory.

Calling someone a paedophile when he clearly isn't is defamatory.

Anonymous said...

@19.06 ... nice one tobes... stick to the spritzers

Anonymous said...

@Ed 19:06
Hype about Fox as the new Farage with the usual suspects as backers.
Different face; same shit.
Are there enough thick-as-shit electors in England prepared to vote 'Reclaim'?
You bet.

Anonymous said...

Fox has since removed the posts, writing: 'I have deleted the tweets posted yesterday, in response to being repeatedly, continuously and falsely smeared as a racist.'

I presume they can back up their assertions about Mr Fox which he responded to, otherwise I'd save my money.

Let's All Go Down The Strand said...

19:29
Might work if Cocklecarrot thinks that Twitter is a public house and both parties were drunkards engaged in a heated argument.

Anonymous said...

What was said to Mr Fox that caused his outburst - the "unnecessary language"- was not the speech of a gentleman, it was the foul-mouthed rant of someone seemingly unable to converse dispassionately in a civilised debate and I am surprised that he has drawn more attention to it. They may now regret the words, but I would expect someone in their position to conduct themselves better in the first place.

N said...

No one's falling for it, 19:29. We all know what was said, as everyone has seen the tweets. Fox is racist scum, the action certainly will go to court, and I can't wait for Fox to be taken for everything he owes.

That'll teach fascist cronies like you and Fox.