Judge dismisses Matt Hancock’s request and orders him to pay Andrew Bridgen £18,000
Former ex-health minister Matt Hancock MP is set to head to trial against former Tory MP Andrew Bridgen after a judge dismisses his strike-out application.
The legal feud between two independent politicians kicked off in January 2023, when Hancock posted on social media about Bridgen after the Tories suspended him over a “disgraceful” tweet.
Bridgen, formerly a Tory MP, was suspended by the party over a post that appeared to say the delay in releasing safety data on Covid-19 vaccines was the worst crime since the Holocaust.
That tweet was widely condemned and has since been deleted by him.
Hancock took to social media to share a post on his question at PMQ, which stated: “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 threatened Hancock with legal action if he didn’t “apologise publicly” for calling him “an antisemite and racist”.
The parties went to a hearing last month as Hancock’s legal representatives sought an order to throw out the libel claim that faced him.
However, in a written judgment handed down this morning, 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.”
“What is certain is that all the relevant evidence on which that question would usually fall to be determined is not available at this stage.”
“Whether Mr Bridgen will ultimately succeed on his pleaded case in establishing the fact he alleges is likely to depend on a complete examination of the evidence both ways, including how Mr Hancock explains his opinion in due course, if he chooses to do so, or the inferences to be drawn if he does not.”
“That is a matter for a trial judge, not for a mini-trial in advance of the evidential situation even being known,” she ruled.
Commenting on the ruling, Bridgen posted a lengthy post on social media, “Matt Hancock tried and failed to stop this libel claim reaching a trial in March 2024. His second attempt to stop this claim has failed in 2025.”
He said the judge ordered Hancock to pay him £18,000 in legal costs within 14 days.