Emilia Fox ‘loves’ cousin Laurence despite disagreeing on politics

Emilia Fox says that her cousin Laurence’s political opinions have ‘nothing to do with their relationship’.  

Ex-actor Laurence, 42, starred as James Hathaway in ITV’s Lewis before quitting acting to reinvent himself as the leader of the anti-woke party Reclaim last November. 

His most recent controversy saw his Twitter account suspended over a post about Manchester City star Benjamin Mendy which read ‘Get kneeling, f*****s’ after news broke he was being charged with four counts of rape and sexual assault. 

However, the Silent Witness star says that the pair have had ‘amazing times together’ and are incredibly supportive of one another’s personal lives.  

In an interview with The Times, London-based actress Emilia, 47, said that while she won’t be  joining his political ‘battle bus’ she believes her cousin is ‘more than capable of standing on his own two feet’. 

‘Laurence is my cousin, he’s family and I love my family,’ she said. ‘I think he’d be the first to advocate that people can have different opinions on things. 

‘We’ve had very different life experiences and Laurence’s political life is nothing to do with my relationship with him. We’ve had some amazing times together and we’ve been very mutually supportive of our personal lives.’  

The pair appeared on television together in 2019 for the first series of Celebrity Gogglebox and Emilia has acted alongside Lauren’s ex-wife Billie Piper in 2005 comedy film Things To Do Before You’re 30.  

Laurence – whose illustrious acting dynasty includes his father, James Fox – was dropped by his agent last year after an appearance on Question Time in which he rowed with an ethnicity lecturer over Meghan Markle.

When asked whether she was worried about him, Laurence’s cousin said she had no reason to be, insisting that ‘Laurence is well capable of standing on his own two feet.’   

Back in January 2020, Laurence accused Rachel Boyle, an academic at Edge Hill University on Merseyside, of ‘being racist’ after she called him ‘a white privileged male’ for denying the Duchess of Sussex was hounded from Britain for being mixed-race.   

Their angry exchange began when Ms Boyle said criticism of Meghan in the media had been motivated by ‘racism’, adding: ‘She’s a black woman and she has been torn to pieces.’

But Fox hit back, saying: ‘it’s not racism’ and continued: We’re the most tolerant, lovely country in Europe… it’s so easy to throw the charge of racism at everybody and it’s really starting to get boring’.

As the row continued he quoted Martin Luther King’s 1963 ‘I have a dream’ speech about living in a nation where children ‘will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character’ on Twitter. 

He said: ‘This is the position I took last night and I live by in life. If you can improve on it, I’m all ears. Or you can keep screeching ”Racist!” at me and I can carry on having a jolly good giggle at your expense. The tide is turning’. 

In March this year the former actor launched a bid in London’s mayoral election, but won 47,634 votes placing him in sixth with 1.8 per cent of the vote.  

Laurence has also waded into the anti-vax row, insisting that he could remove his children from school because of his opposition to the Government’s Covid vaccination programme.

He said he would educate them at home rather than let them be vaccinated without his consent.  

‘Every parent who loves their children should resist this insanity,’ said the actor-turned-political campaigner.

‘I will not be sending my kids back to school. I will educate my kids at home from now on. 

‘The rushed vaccination of children, for no reason whatsoever, shows how deeply morally corrupt this regime has become. I look forward to reading with them at home and staying the hell away from the authorities.’

He shares custody of his children with actress Billie, whom he divorced in 2016, but she declined to comment on whether she would approve their removal from school.

Laurence was married to Secret Diary Of A Call Girl star for eight years and the pair have  children Winston, 12, and nine-year-old Eugene. 

His most recent controversy saw his Twitter account was suspended over a post about Manchester City star Benjamin Mendy which read ‘Get kneeling, f*****s’ after news broke he was being charged with four counts of rape and sexual assault. 

The Manchester City footballer was refused bail ahead of a potential trial on rape charges earlier this month after being charged with attacks on three different women, including one under 18, at his home in Prestbury, Cheshire. 

Defending himself against claims of racism, Laurence admitted his initial post was ‘provocative’ but denied any claims of discrimination, pointing to the fact his original tweet did not reference race.  

He tweeted ‘For too long, footballers have been portrayed as saints with the highest moral virtue.

‘When all too often they prey on young women using their fame, then use money & power to buy silence in a way ordinary men never could.

‘Perhaps in light of the most recent case, they should take the knee to the victims of sexual assault & rape? To own their own mess?

‘After all, these are not crimes committed by police officers 1000s of miles away, but by broken role models from within their own ranks?  

‘But they won’t. It’s easier to project their piety in the name of racial justice than to look to the sins committed by their colleagues.

‘This is why I have consistently rejected being lectured by professional footballers. They’re hypocrites: mega-rich babies who readily & ludicrously take the position of the oppressed, when all too often they have been the ones abusing their huge power for nefarious reasons.

‘Nothing in my admittedly provocative tweet was about race, although it is with crushing predictability that it was spun this way by my political opponents & the usual media grifters.

‘Instead I was instructing footballers to kneel for the victims of rape & sexual assaults committed by footballers – a point none of the usual, vocal campaigners picked up on ad they clamoured to shoot the messenger & once again avoid the inconvenient message.’