Police are investigating a video of Laurence Fox he posted on Twitter on Sunday, in which he attempted to burn Pride flags in his garden.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Police are aware of a video posted on social media in relation to Pride flags being set alight.
“Officers are currently assessing the footage and enquiries are ongoing.”
In the video, Fox can be heard calling the flags “child mutilation bunting”.
The Pride flags were then doused in lighter fluid before Fox attempted to ignite them, saying “goodbye” as he moved along the row of banners.
The flames quickly extinguished on their own, preventing the flags from burning in the trick.
Pride flags are a symbol of the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other diverse sexual orientations and gender identities) community and its various identities, experiences, and movements.
Fox, 45, shared the controversial stunt with the remark, “My friend brought me some child mutilation bunting. It got the treatment it deserved.”
His actions have since been widely criticised by Twitter users, with some branding the actions “homophobic”. Fox hit back at those who condemned him, writing on Twitter: “I can’t tell you how much I hope the police pay me a visit. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reporting me.
“I very much look forward to them explaining to me that I have committed a hate crime by burning an icon to child mutilation, but the doctors who chop off vulnerable healthy young girls' breasts, and young boys’ penises haven’t."
He added: “I’m done negotiating with the mutilators. I am tolerant of pretty much everything, but child sacrifice is an absolute red line.
“You can call it gender-affirming care, you can blackmail parents by saying “would you rather have a dead son or a living daughter?”
“You can write articles about what a madman I am, I don’t care, and neither does truth. Because it is just that. The truth.”
“People are fed up with having this rubbish rammed down their throats. If I believed in such arbitrary nonsense as “hate crimes” I’d report you for supporting the destruction of young life.”
Fox was temporarily banned from the social media platform last year after changing his profile picture to a swastika made out of Pride flags.
My friend brought me some child mutilation bunting.
— Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) June 18, 2023
It got the treatment it deserved. pic.twitter.com/hJmioHwo6h
Who is Laurence Fox?
Born in Leeds in May 1978, Laurence Fox is a broadcaster, political activist, musician and actor.
Fox comes from a family with a strong acting background. His father is the actor James Fox, and his uncle is the actor Edward Fox.
He made his acting debut in 2001 in the film The Hole. Perhaps his best-known role was as James Hathaway in the drama series Lewis, a spin-off of the popular show Inspector Morse. He also released a studio album in 2016 called Holding Patterns and has made stage appearances in productions including The Real Thing and Our Boys.
In recent years, Fox has become a polarising figure due to his involvement in political and social debates. He has expressed conservative and contentious views on various topics, including identity politics, race, and culture. Fox has been vocal about his opposition to what he perceives as excessive political correctness and “woke” culture.
He regularly presents a Friday night slot on GB News.
He secured funding in September 2020 to launch Reclaim, a new political party that has been nicknamed “UKIP for culture”. He founded it with the aim of challenging the mainstream political establishment in the UK. Fox succeeded Jeremy Hosking as the party’s chief in October 2020.
More recently, the Reclaim Party gained its first MP Andrew Bridgen after he was expelled from the Conservative Party, and Fox announced he will be standing in the upcoming 2023 Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election as a Reclaim Party candidate.
Fox was previously married to actress and former singer Billie Piper, with whom he shares two sons. He is currently engaged to Arabella Neagle.
How has he caused controversy in the past?
In 2020, Fox publicly criticised the George Floyd demonstrations and Covid-19 vaccines.
He ran against what he called “extreme political correctness” in the 2021 London mayoral election after creating Reclaim. He won 1.9 per cent of the vote, forfeiting his election deposit in the process.
Fox also claimed that Meghan Markle was not a victim of racism when he was a panellist on the BBC’s political discussion show Question Time in January 2020.
Due to his opinions, the British actors’ union Equity referred to him as “a disgrace to our industry,” but then rescinded that statement and issued an apology.
Fox tweeted “get kneeling, f*****s” in August 2021 in reference to the current rape and sexual assault accusations against black footballer Benjamin Mendy. Twitter erased the message and briefly suspended the account for breaking its “hateful conduct” policies.
Why was Laurence Fox banned from Twitter?
Twitter temporarily banned Fox for a similar offensive stunt in June of last year.
Days after a shooter killed two people at the Oslo Pride event, he outraged people by changing his profile photo to a swastika made of numerous Pride flags.
As a result, his account was suspended for breaking Twitter’s policies on publishing hateful images and abusive profile content.
After the restriction was lifted, he returned to social media, sharing the Twitter warning with his 369,200 followers and talking about the likelihood of “wokies” exploding over a fresh, changed image of a flag.
