Laurence Fox is now suing a man who called him a “racist” online, the High Court has heard.

The actor and activist is taking legal action against Mukhtar Ali Yassin, accusing him of libel following a row on Twitter in May 2023.

Ben Gallop, representing Fox, told the court that Mr Yassin had made “seriously defamatory allegations of racism against my client that are bare comments”.

Mr Yassin is defending the claim. Neither he nor Mr Fox were in court.

The judge, Mrs Justice Collins Rice, ruled that a hearing would take place to decide if the statements were fact or opinion with a preliminary hearing to be held at a later date.

This comes just two days after the same judge ruled that Mr Fox libelled Simon Blake, a former Stonewall trustee, and RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Crystal.

He called them “paedophiles” on X (formerly Twitter) in October 2020 during an exchange about Sainsbury’s marking Black History Month.

The judge called his allegations “seriously harmful, defamatory and baseless”.

In the same ruling, the judge dismissed counter-claims by Fox against Mr Blake, Crystal and broadcaster Nicola Thorpe, after they described him as “a racist”.

Colin Seymour (the real name of Crystal) said they faced “overwhelming and distressing” abuse after Mr Fox’s tweet, adding they felt less safe as a drag performer.

Mr Blake, now chief executive of Mental Health First Aid England, said the incorrect suggestion that gay men are paedophiles is “a trope as old as the hills”.

Fox has said he plans to appeal the ruling, describing the case as a “nothing burger”.