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Libel claim against Matt Hancock thrown out
The former health secretary has had a libel case against him thrown out
A libel case against former Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been thrown out at the Court of Appeal.
Hancock, who was MP for West Suffolk from 2010 to 2024, was accused of making a malicious online comment about fellow former Tory MP Andrew Bridgen.
He appealed an earlier court decision that Bridgen's claim could go to trial, and on Wednesday at the Court of Appeal three judges ruled in his favour.
Speaking after the decision, Hancock said he was "right to call out" what he "clearly saw were anti-vax and antisemitic conspiracy theories".
In a post in January 2023, Bridgen shared a link to an article about adverse effects after Covid-19 vaccines and added: "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust."
Hours later, Hancock shared a video of him asking a question in the House of Commons on X, captioned: "The disgusting and dangerous antisemitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories spouted by a sitting MP this morning are unacceptable and have absolutely no place in our society."
That led to Bridgen suing for libel, stating that people would have believed him to be antisemitic.
Andrew Bridgen said those reading Matt Hancock's post would have believed him to be antisemitic
In April last year at the High Court, Mrs Justice Collins Rice said she believed there were "compelling reasons for further investigation at trial" and refused Hancock's attempt to have the claim thrown out.