Former Tory MP set to call Sunak in libel spat with Hancock
The Court of Appeal is set to hear the latest chapter in a libel claim brought by expelled Tory MP Andrew Bridgen against former ex-health minister Matt Hancock MP.
The legal battle between the ex-politicians erupted in January 2023, when Hancock posted on social media about Bridgen after the Tories suspended him over a “disgraceful” tweet.
Hancock’s legal representative on Wednesday said Bridgen has expressed he wishes to call 10 witnesses in the event of an imminent trial, including former prime minister Rishi Sunak and Robert F Kennedy Jr.
“If we are facing a claimant pushing an expansive trial it is important this case is stopped in its tracks”, Hancock’s legal representative said.
Hancock has not put forward any of his own evidence in the case besides affirming through his solicitor’s witness statement in the High Court ruling that he continues to hold the opinion he expressed in the tweet.
“We have waited three years to hear from Mr Hancock, but there is a wall of silence”, Bridgen’s legal representative told the court.
“It really is high time we have a trial where we hear an account from Mr Hancock on his position and whether his account is to be believed”, he said.
He added that the claim “is about as damaging and dangerous a libel as is possible to imagine nowadays.”
Bridgen, a former Tory MP, was ousted from the party on 11 January 2023 over a post which appeared to say the delay in releasing safety data on Covid-19 vaccines was the worst crime since the holocaust.
The tweet was immediately condemned across the political spectrum and has since been deleted by the ex-MP for North West Leicestershire.
The same day, Hancock, took to X himself to share a tweet about Bridgen on his question at Prime Minister’s questions (PMQ) following the news of Bridgen that morning.
Hancock said in his tweet “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.”
Bridgen took to X again two days following calling Hancock to “apologise publicly for calling me an antisemite and racist or he will be contacted by my legal team”.
The ex-Tory MP took to X again over a week later to confirm “a legal letter before action” was sent to Hancock from The Bad Law Project over his alleged defamation.
Battle of the ex-MPs
A judge in April 2025 dismissed a request from Hancock to strike out Bridgen’s libel claim and ordered him to pay him £18,000 following the pair going to court after Hancock’s legal representatives sought an order to throw the claim out.
Mrs Justice Collins Rice said: “Whether or not Mr Hancock genuinely espoused the opinion he expressed in the tweet complained of is, in the end, a matter of fact.”
Hancock was granted permission to appeal the decision, and the court is expected to hear arguments from his legal team at the law firm RPC on Wednesday.
This article is being live updated.