Andrew Bridgen: “I am suing Mr. Hancock for defamation”

In January, the former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who was responsible for overseeing the UK Government’s covid response, described MP Andrew Bridgen as a “disgusting and dangerous” propagator of antisemitism. Shortly afterwards Mr. Bridgen tweeted at Midazolam Matt to remove his defamatory tweet and apologise, if he didn’t then Mr. Bridgen’s legal team would be in contact with him.  Yesterday Mr. Bridgen announced he was suing Hancock for defamation.

“Mr. Hancock’s smear and false allegations of racism has served to stifle Parliamentary debate – presumably in the hope that any uncomfortable truths about his covid regime will fade away. My legal action against Mr Hancock is, therefore, a defence not of Andrew Bridgen, but of free speech itself – the basis of any healthy democracy,” Mr. Bridgen, Member of Parliament (“MP”) for North West Leicestershire, said.

In a written statement supporting his video statement, Mr. Bridgen said: “Earlier this year, the former Health Secretary described me in a tweet as a “disgusting and dangerous” propagator of anti-Semitism. I believe this was to stop me asking questions about the safety and efficacy of Covid vaccines on behalf of my constituents and other members of the public who have suffered adverse reactions to the vaccines and from Covid policy in many other ways.

“If I am successful, any damages awarded will be donated IN FULL to support the seriously vaccine injured and their ongoing fight for recognition and remedy.”

Support free speech and the right of MPs to give a voice to the unheard. If you can, please support Mr. Bridgen’s legal case against Midazolam Matt.  You can support the legal action HERE.

Andrew Bridgen gets Spiked Online

At the end of April, libertarian news outlet Spiked Online attacked Mr. Bridgen in an article titled ‘The delusions of Andrew Bridgen’ claiming that “conspiratorial thinking corrodes reason, democracy and humanism.” 

Browsing through its articles, it becomes clear that Spiked has throughout the covid era been promoting covid injections as well as an article in early 2021 titled ‘Who’s really sowing doubt about the vaccines?’ which refers to “anti-vaxxers” as “online cranks.”

The latest hit piece on Mr. Bridgen has led some social media users to question whether Spiked has received influential amounts of money from those who would benefit from keeping the “vaccine is safe and effective” narrative alive.

In years gone by, Spiked Online has admitted to its links to Pfizer. In a series of articles in 2006, Spiked described a survey it had conducted in collaboration with Pfizer, see HERE and HERE.  But the links to covid profiteers appear closer than a survey conducted 17 years ago.

On Tuesday, Dr. Ahmad Malik tweeted an exposé of Spiked in a thread. “Turns out they are funded by the Koch brothers,” he said.

In 2018, Spiked raised US$300,000 in a Grant round.  According to Crunch Base, the investor was Koch Brothers Inc., based in Ohio, USA.  If you follow the link for Koch Brothers Inc. provided by Crunch Base, it leads to Koch Office Group which shows no apparent connection to either the billionaire Koch brothers or their company Koch Industries Inc.  However, an exchange of published emails between Spiked and George Monbiot, who was carrying out an investigation in collaboration with DeSmog, made the definitive link.

Spiked published the email exchange in a 2018 article.  Responding to questions from Monbiot about the funding, Spiked stated it had received US$300,000 from the Charles Koch Foundation over the previous three years to produce public debates in the US about free speech. Monbiot – a Guardian columnist and author of ‘Heat: How to Save The Planet from Burning’ – then published the information as part of DeSmog’s page of all things relating to Spiked.  DeSmog’s page noted that the funding Spiked received is from “the Koch family, the billionaires behind the largest privately-owned energy company in the United States, Koch Industries.”

The Koch brothers, Charles and David, owned over 80% of Koch Industries Inc.  In June 2018, David Koch retired from all roles related to Koch Industries due to health reasons and he later passed away in August 2019. Koch Industries is the second-largest privately-held company in the US, a conglomerate of more than twenty companies with $110-115 billion in annual sales.  As Dr. Malik uncovered, Koch Industries is no stranger to making profits out of covid:

Many have been wondering why Spiked – a libertarian outlet whose motto is “question everything” – is not questioning the “vaccines.” It would be worth considering if the above provides sufficient proof that Spiked is under the influence of those who aim to perpetuate the “safe and effective” narrative for self-gain.

Andrew Bridgen joins Reclaim Party

In another blow to the Conservative Party, Mr. Bridgen also announced yesterday that he was joining the Reclaim Party. “I’ve joined the Reclaim Party because they respect free speech,” he said.

In a pre-recorded video shared on social media, he said: “The ability to go out to work and keep more of your own money, freedom of speech, protection of your own family, taking responsibility of your own affairs; they’re the bedrock of this country and that’s how we’ve prospered over the years.  There doesn’t seem to be a party in Westminster that embodies those values anymore.”

Will other Conservative MPs cross the floor?

With the announcement of Andrew Bridgen’s defection to Laurence Fox’s Reclaim Party, during a press conference, Guido Fawkes took the opportunity to ask whether more MPs might follow. Although Laurence demurred, Guido reported, Mr. Bridgen did hint at more potential defections:

“There are a lot of Conservative MPs who, for various reasons, have lost the whip or been deselected. I would ask you to take a look at the number of Conservative MPs that voted against plan B in December of 2021 and see what number of those are no longer in the party or have lost the whip or been deselected. That’s quite telling,” Mr. Bridgen said.

Guido Fawkes listened to Mr. Bridgen’s advice and has taken a look at the suspended Tories who voted against Plan B.  Read more on what Guido has to say HERE.