Laurence Fox is set to appear in court over allegations he encouraged people to vandalise ULEZ cameras in London, MailOnline can reveal. 

The former actor turned online provocateur and failed politician has been charged with intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence, under the Serious Crime Act.

MailOnline understands the charge pertains to allegations he used social media to encourage people to damage London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone cameras.

The alleged offence relates to posts made on social media between September and October 2023.

Fox, 46, has been told to attend Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday May 16.

In a statement, a Met Police spokesperson said: ‘Laurence Fox, 46, of Peldon, Essex, will appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 16 May, charged with intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence.

‘The charge relates to posts made on a social media site between September and October 2023.’

If found guilty, the penalty for assisting or encouraging an offence is broadly in line with the offence to which it was linked.

In this case, the offence would likely be criminal damage, which can carry a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment depending on the value of the damage, but may be greater if the offence is found to be aggravated.

MailOnline has contacted Fox for comment.

Laurence Fox (pictured outside court last month) has been ordered to appear on a charge of encouraging people to damage ULEZ cameras in London

The expansion of London’s ULEZ network led to guerilla vandals known as ‘Blade Runners’ cutting down the cameras (pictured: a vandal who cut down a ULEZ camera in August 2024)

London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone was expanded in August 2023, prompting anger from owners of older, more polluting cars

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s decision to expand of London’s ULEZ zone to cover all 32 boroughs in August 2023 stoked anger among owners of older, more polluting cars in London.

Some motorists felt they were being unfairly targeted with the £12.50 daily charge for not buying a newer car – whether for sentimental or financial reasons.

Amid online anger, videos of vandals known informally as ‘Blade Runners’ then spread on social media.

The guerilla activists were seen to cut down the new cameras in the capital’s outer reaches using hacksaws and heavy machinery.

Others used paint or foam to blot out the camera lenses of the devices, which were often placed at traffic lights to match number plates to emissions data.

Some of the so-called ‘Blade Runners’ even shared videos championing the heads of the cameras they had hacked down.

There is no suggestion Fox was actively involved in vandalising ULEZ cameras.

A YouGov poll commissioned in August 2023 found that 51 per cent of Londoners opposed the actions of the vandals compared to 32 per cent who backed them.

It comes as the star is awaiting trial in connection with allegations he shared an explicit photograph of TV commentator Narinder Kaur on social media.

Fox appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on April 25 to deny charges that he shared pictures of Ms Kaur, who has waived her right to anonymity, in a tweet in April 2024.

He was seen entering court in a black baseball cap inscribed with ‘Two-Tier Britain’ – a slogan shared by online critics of the way in which the Southport riots were policed – accompanied by his girlfriend Elizabeth Barker.

Fox elected for a jury trial and is set to appear at Woolwich Crown Court for a pre-trial hearing in relation to those charges on May 23.

The judge granted conditional bail, instructing Fox not to contact Mrs Kaur directly or indirectly.

Fox appeared in court last month on charges of sharing an explicit image of TV star Narinder Kaur on social media, which he has denied

London’s ULEZ network was introduced by Mayor Boris Johnson – and expanded to cover the entire city by Sadiq Khan (pictured)

The expansion to all 32 London boroughs saw some of the new devices taken down by force (pictured: an empty ULEZ bracket after its camera was stolen)

Some so-called ‘Blade Runners’ even showed off the cameras they had cut down, championing them as trophies. There is no suggestion Fox was involved in vandalising cameras

The picture of Ms Kaur that Fox is alleged to have shared was taken in 2009 as the Good Morning Britain and Jeremy Vine regular got out of a taxi – without her knowledge or consent.

The police previously said Fox had been ‘charged with an offence contrary to section 66A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003’ – the offence of ‘cyberflashing’ – which ‘relates to an image that was posted on a social media platform in April 2024’.

The charge, introduced in 2023, makes it an offence to intentionally share a sexual image of someone without consent, with the aim of causing alarm, distress, humiliation or for sexual gratification.

Offenders can face up to two years in jail and be placed on the sex offenders’ register.

Last month, MailOnline revealed that Fox’s counter-complaint against Ms Kaur was dropped by the Metropolitan Police after he alleged that she had made a ‘criminal allegation’ against him.

Ms Kaur, who rose to fame on Big Brother, had hit out at Fox over the alleged sharing of the upskirt photo, which he claimed had caused him ‘deep harm and distress’.

The Met Police told MailOnline in April: ‘On 4 July 2024 we received an allegation of malicious communication in relation to comments made by a woman aged in her 50s.

‘Following an investigation and after consulting with the Crown Prosecution Service a decision was taken there would be no further action. Both parties were informed of this outcome.’

Fox dropped acting in favour of a career in right-wing provocation after he was dumped by his talent agency over controversial remarks he made on Question Time.

Fox is set to stand trial over allegations he shared the image of Narinder Kaur (pictured), causing her alarm and distress

A counter-complaint lodged by Fox against Ms Kaur (pictured), claiming she had made a ‘criminal allegation’ about him, was later dropped by the Met Police over a lack of evidence

His agents called it a day after he claimed that an audience member calling him a ‘white privileged male’ was racist during a discussion about Meghan Markle.

Fox later admitted he had been radicalised by YouTube videos crusading against ‘wokeness’.

His posts lashing out at ‘woke’ culture, political correctness and gender have provoked widespread criticism – as have those spreading conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and vaccines.

Fox lost a libel court battle after labelling two individuals, Simon Blake and a drag queen called Crystal, ‘paedophiles’ on social media.

He was ordered to pay them £90,000 each by the High Court; a judge labelled his remark ‘harmful, defamatory and baseless’.

He founded the Reclaim Party in 2020, which gained its first and only MP in Andrew Bridgen in 2023 after he was expelled from the Tories for comments comparing the COVID-19 vaccine to the Holocaust. Bridgen left months later.

Fox has stood for election three times: in 2021 for the London mayoralty, in the 2023 Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election and in 2024 for the London Assembly.

Each time, he failed to receive enough votes to receive his deposit back. He also attempted to stand for the London mayoralty in 2024, but did not fill in the nomination forms correctly and so was barred from running.

Fox also presented a regular Friday night show on GB News and was previously married to actress Billie Piper, with whom he has two children. They separated after nine years.