Sacked GB News Pundit Laurence Fox Released By Police After Live-Streaming Arrest
Press Association via AP Images
Ex-GB News commentator and political activist Laurence Fox was released late Wednesday following his arrest by London’s Metropolitan Police over allegedly endorsing the destruction of ULEZ enforcement cameras around the city.
The Reclaim Party, of which Fox is the leader, made the announcement in a statement posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
On Wednesday morning Fox live streamed the search of his home by at least five uniformed officers with the help of a friend as he smoked a cigar. The video was shared on his party’s X account.
“What? Look at how many coppers there are in my house,” Fox said to the camera. “That ladies and gentlemen is the country that we live in.”
During a subsequent stream Fox commented, “There’s another three [officers] upstairs stealing and going through my house to intimidate me. This is what the police are, they do not police with consent anymore.”
“Have a lovely day,” he signed off. “I’m going to spend my day in the clink innit.”
The Met Police confirmed the arrest in a later statement: “On Wednesday 4, October 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.”
ULEZ cameras, or Ultra Low Emission Zone cameras, were introduced by London Mayor Sadiq Khan in 2019. When a car passes by, the ULEZ cameras capture its licence plate. If the vehicle doesn’t meet the ULEZ emissions standards and isn’t exempt, the driver must pay a daily charge to access the zone. Following Khan’s expansion of the clean air zone to the Greater London boundary on August 29, there was a surge in acts of vandalism.
On Tuesday, during fellow activist Maajid Nawaz’s Rumble live stream Fox voiced his support for the so-called Blade Runners, saboteurs who have been tearing down ULEZ enforcement cameras around London.
“I encourage them to tear down every single camera there is. I will be joining them to tear down cameras as well because I’m one of those people that puts my money where my mouth is,” he said. “I will be out there with my angle grinder.”
“I would encourage mass removal of the surveillance state… I would be happy to be arrested myself.”
Fox’s arrest came the same day he was sacked by GB News over a misogynistic rant about Ava Evans, a reporter for PoliticsJOE. His comments, made to GB News presenter Dan Wootton, resulted in their suspensions. Wootton remains under investigation by the network.
