Laurence Fox has been sacked from GB News after comments he made about political journalist Ava Evans. “Show me a self-respecting man that would like to climb into bed with that,” he said, live on air, while talking about a female journalist.
This was announced on Wednesday afternoon and comes after the presenter was thought to have been arrested on Wednesday morning on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to Ulez cameras. He has uploading a video of police searching his home.
“Look how many coppers there are in my house...Coming to take everything out of my house. That ladies and gentlemen, is the country that we live in,” Fox had said in the video.
The video also appears to show multiple uniformed officers in what looks like Fox's living room as he sits down, dressed in a grey suit and smoking a cigar.
Confirming a suspect had been arrested, a spokeswoman for the Met said: “On Wednesday October 4, officers arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to Ulez cameras and encouraging or assisting offences to be committed.
“He was arrested in Stockwell and has been taken to a South London police station where he remains in custody.”
Fox is a GB News presenter in a self-titled show where he “tackles the issues of the day with his unique and outgoing style”, according to the station.
Fox had already been officially suspended while the channel looked into the remarks he had made on the channel the night before.
“Mr Fox’s suspension is effective immediately and he has been taken off air. We will be apologising formally to Ms Evans today,” the channel had said at the time.
The boss of GB News, Angelos Frangopoulos, also spoke out about the incident, telling the BBC that he was “appalled” by the remarks.
He said that Fox’s comments “are not in keeping with the values of us as a business and as a media company”.
But who is Fox and what other controversies has he been involved in?
Who is Laurence Fox?
Fox is an actor, politician and presenter.
The 45-year-old comes from the Fox acting dynasty – Bafta-winning actor James Fox is Laurence’s father, and his aunt and uncle, Edward Fox and Joanna David, are seasoned performers in British theatre and cinema.
Fox went to Harrow but was expelled just before his A-Levels. Following in his father’s footsteps, he then successfully auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and took to the stage in London.
He made his film acting debut in the British horror movie The Hole in 2001 alongside Keira Knightley.
However, his break came with the ITV detective series Lewis, with nine seasons broadcast between 2006 and 2015.
In this spin-off of the popular detective series Inspector Morse, Kevin Whately’s character Lewis is partnered with Fox as sidekick Sergeant James Hathaway.
Fox then started a second profession as a musician. In 2016, he released his debut album Holding Patterns. But when his first record company, Pledge Music, failed, he was forced to found his own business, Fox Cub Records, which reportedly cost him tens of thousands.
Fox dipped into a third profession when he made headlines in 2020, after participating in the political discussion programme Question Time, expressing a number of divisive viewpoints.
He further incited controversy when he maintained his criticism of the inclusion of a Sikh soldier character in the First World War film 1917, which he thought detracted from the plot in order to demonstrate diversity.
Fox did apologise to the Sikh community, but insisted that he stood by all of his other statements.
We also can’t forget his political career.
Fox ran for mayor of London in May 2021 but lost the election after receiving only 1.8 per cent of the vote, forfeiting his £10,000 deposit.
He now serves as the leader of the Reclaim Party, a group that, in his words, seeks to combat “the woke orthodoxy of ‘white privilege’ and ‘systemic racism’ and defend free speech rights as well as Britain’s culture from liberal politicians and the media.
Fox ran as a Reclaim Party candidate in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election in July 2023. He lost his deposit once more after placing fourth, with 2.3 per cent of the vote.
Other controversies
At the height of lockdown and the Black Lives Matter movement, Fox spoke out more frequently on Twitter.
He said in a self-portrait on Twitter that, “I am exempt from wearing a face covering”, while sporting the mask-exemption lanyard.
He tweeted: “After a long period of consultation with myself, an extended review period and proper due diligence conducted with myself, I’ve received the badge that I ordered from Amazon. Thank you for being there for me. #anxiety”.
Others questioned Fox’s exemption, whether his claim of anxiety would prevent him from putting on a mask, and why he wouldn’t do more to safeguard those who were more vulnerable.
In another case, Fox called football players’ conduct “a gesture of subservience and submission” in response to Piers Morgan’s tweet attacking Millwall fans who booed during a match against Derby, when players from both teams dropped the knee to demonstrate solidarity against racism.
Later, he tweeted the phrase, “It’s happened before... Appeasement is the incorrect choice.” He included a picture of the 1938 England football team lined up for a Nazi salute.
Personal life
Fox was married to singer and actress Billie Piper from 2007 to 2016 and they have two sons, Winston, 14, and Eugene, 11.
The 45-year-old revealed it was an ugly divorce that “crippled him financially”.
