Matt Hancock slandered parliamentary candidate Andrew Bridgen in a “devastating” way when he accused him of antisemitism, the High Court has heard.
Bridgen is suing the former health secretary after Hancock criticized his claim that the vaccine rollout was “the greatest crime against humanity since the Holocaust”.
Hancock described the comment as “disgusting and dangerous” and “anti-Semitic”, prompting Bridgen will take legal action “to clear his name”.
At a hearing on Wednesday, Christopher Newman, representing Bridgen, said the allegation had reduced his client in the public eye to a “devastating extent”.
“We say that the gravity of what was said, even in the defendant’s sense, was really very serious,” he said.
“A libel about anti-Semitism is a particularly serious libel.”
He continued: “We live in a society where racism is not only undesirable, it is legislated to be illegal… and anti-Semitism as a very specific form of racism, as bad as any other form of racism.”
Mrs Justice Collins Rice was asked to decide several preliminary issues in the case, including whether Mr Hancock’s post was a statement of fact or opinion.
Hancock shared a video on January 11, 2023 of him asking Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a question in the House of Commons.
It was posted with the words: “The disgusting and dangerous anti-Semitic, anti-vaccine and anti-science conspiracy theories spread by a sitting parliamentarian this morning are unacceptable and have absolutely no place in our society.”
This came hours after Bridgen shared a link to an article “relating to data on deaths and other adverse reactions linked to Covid vaccines” and declaring: “As a consultant cardiologist told me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust.” .
Although Newman said Hancock’s post meant Bridgen “is an anti-Semite,” the former health secretary’s lawyers said it meant Bridgen had “publicized views of an anti-Semitic nature.”
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In written comments, Aidan Eardley KC, on behalf of Hancock, said only someone “avid for scandal” would believe the post was about Bridgen’s “general character or belief system”.
He added: “The political context of the statement is highly significant.
“The reasonable reader will have realized that this was an MP criticizing a statement made by another MP on an issue of political controversy.”
Bridgen, who stands as an independent candidate in the North West Leicestershire constituency, was not present at the hearing, with Newman telling the court he was “campaigning”.
Hancock, who stepped down as deputy, also did not attend.
Mrs. Justice Collins Rice will issue her written decision at a later date.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
