Why is Laurence Fox arrested? Charges explored as actor detained after uploading video of police searching his home

Laurence Fox, the English actor-turned-political activist, was arrested on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to ULEZ cameras.

ULEZ cameras are used by Transport for London (TfL) across the capital to detect the level of emission from a car in an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). If the car does not meet the emission standards then the owner is charged with a fine.

The Lewis actor's Reclaim Party posted on X, formerly Twitter, on the same day of the arrest, claiming the police were searching his house in London. Laurence's arrest came on the same day GB News announced that they had fired the actor, following his comments about a female journalist.

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Laurence Fox was arrested over conspiracy of ULEZ camera damage

Laurence Fox was arrested on Wednesday after he made comments encouraging the audience on the video streaming site Rumble, one day prior, to break the ULEZ cameras:

"I encourage them to tear down every single camera there is and I will be joining them," he said.

He was detained by the MET on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to ULEZ cameras, as per The Guardian. The Metropolitan Police gave a statement about the case but did not mention Laurence Fox by name.

"On Wednesday 4 October, officers arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to ULEZ cameras and encouraging or assisting offences to be committed. He was arrested in Stockwell and has been taken to a South London police station where he remains in custody," they said.

The actor was subsequently released and the Reclaim Party said that he wanted his "family and friends to know he is safe and well." The party also confirmed his arrest after Fox's house was raided on the same day.

In the video, Laurence asked his followers to "Look how many coppers there are around my house," while sitting on a sofa and the camera panned to the officers looking through the political activist's belongings, as per Variety. He continued:

"Look at them, coming to steal everything, take everything out of my house. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the country that we live in."

According to the Met authorities, there were "795 crimes recorded relating to the cameras, while there have been 200 reports of stolen cameras and 595 cases of damage to the cameras" between the period of April 1 to September 30, 2023.

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Laurence Fox gets fired after passing misogynistic comments

On October 4, GB News decided to sack Lawrence after he hurled misogynistic comments about journalist Ava Evans on the Dan Wootton Tonight Show. Fox called Ava a "little woman" and remarked, "Who'd wanna sh*g that."

GB News received more than 8,000 complaints over his comments and he got a suspension last week along with Calvin Robinson, a regular presenter who stood in solidarity over the actor's views.

The pair were fired from GB News on the same day of Laurence Fox's arrest. The broadcasting channel said they had “ended its employment relationship” with both of them, as per BBC.

Laurence went on X, formerly Twitter, to talk about the Ava Evans situation. He said:

"GB News had one opportunity and that opportunity was to stand up and defend free speech, which they haven’t done. So I think now as they brand themselves the home of free speech, they’re actually the home of cancel culture."

The investigation on Dan Wootton was still underway and he is currently suspended. All three were broadcasters in the GB News company.