Coalville MP Andrew Bridgen has confirmed he has started legal proceedings against former Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Mr Bridgen - now sitting as an MP for the Reclaim Party - first threatened legal action in January over Mr Hancock's comments on social media that accused him of "anti-semitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories".

That followed Mr Bridgen's controversial tweet that likened the Government's Covid vaccination roll-out to the Holocaust.

The BBC reported that a letter sent on his behalf was claiming £100,000 in libel damages.

Mr Hancock - who had the Tory whip removed for his reality TV appearance - had been standing by his comments.

A "letter before action" was been sent on Mr Bridgen's behalf by a group called The Bad Law Project, with the support of the Reclaim Party, led by actor and activist Laurence Fox.

According to the letter, Mr Bridgen believes the former health secretary's words were defamatory.

He was calling on Mr Hancock to retract and delete his statement, apologise in the Commons and on Twitter, and pay £100,000 into a legal fund for people seeking vaccine damages.

But at the end of today's (Wednesday) press conference to confirm his move to the Reclaim Party, which was live-streamed on social media, Mr Bridgen said: "I'd like to inform the audience that I've submitted a defamation claim to the Royal Court of Justice against one Matthew Hancock MP. 

"The basis of my claim is that Mr. Hancock's accusation of anti-semitism against me is a false slur to deliberately try and shut down valid concerns raised by me on behalf of my constituents and thousands of others around the world about the safety and efficacy of the experimental COVID-19 injections. 

"This issue is of international importance because every elected representative should be allowed to challenge Government policy without being shut down by malicious slurs. 

"I've also launched a crowdfunder today, funds raised will be used exclusively for my legal case, and any excess funds will go to charities supporting the vaccine injured and vaccine bereaved."

A spokesperson for Mr Hancock told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Matt will defend this absurd action, which is a pathetic publicity stunt.

"The claim has no credible basis and when Matt wins the case, he will also seek to recover all costs. Vaccines save lives, and Matt will always defend science and progress against unfounded conspiracy theories that put peoples' health at risk."