Laurence Fox announces he is ENGAGED to conspiracy theorist podcaster Elizabeth 'Liz' Barker - a year after splitting from ex-fiancée just weeks before pair were due to marry

Laurence Fox today announced his engagement to his podcaster girlfriend Liz Barker - joking to followers that he is 'punching'. 

The actor turned politician shared a post captioned 'some personal news', which showed Ms Barker wearing a ring. `

Mr Fox confirmed his engagement to MailOnline, saying: 'Yes congratulations are due. It was a few weeks ago.' He declined to comment further, saying he wanted to keep things 'quiet and personal'. 

It comes a year after the Reclaim Party leader dramatically split from his fiancée Arabella Fleetwood Neagle just weeks before they had been expected to wed.

The 46-year-old former Lewis star was previously married to the actress Billie Piper for eight years before they divorced in 2016. They met in 2006 while working on the stage play Treats and wed a year later before having two sons, Winston and Eugene. 

Elizabeth 'Liz' Barker describes herself on Instagram as a model, body double and stuntwoman. She was born in America but now lives in the UK.

She regularly appears on Elite Thinking Club, a 'critical thinking' fringe podcast that touts itself as a 'show dedicated to critical thinking' but airs wild conspiracy theories including the idea Princess Diana was murdered on the orders of the Queen.

Asked in an episode on the theory of evolution whether humans are descended from apes, she replied: 'I think that's what we're made to believe and that is what we should be believing [sic] but I don't think that is. No. I think we come from another race.'

Ms Barker has also claimed that financier Epstein was killed following Prince Andrew's Newsnight interview - but Epstein died in August 2019, three months before the Duke of York's excruciating interview with Emily Maitlis took place.

In March 2021, she appeared to suggest that the September 11 attacks had 'grey areas' of unanswered questions, making apparent references to a theory popular among conspiracists that heat from jet fuel couldn't have melted the World Trade Centre's steel construction. 

She has also described the 1969 Moon landings as a 'big lie' and called climate change a 'smokescreen'.

Ms Barker was pictured holding hands with Mr Fox as he entered the High Court for a libel trial last year against two drag queens he called 'paedophiles'. He was eventually ordered to pay £90,000 in damages. 

The pair were pictured together at a 'worldwide freedom rally' and at hustings ahead of the Uxbridge by-election in July, where Mr Fox lost his deposit after picking up just 714 votes.

Mr Fox previously began dating school teacher Arabella Fleetwood Neagle in 2021 but they ended their relationship last year after accepting it had 'run out of steam'.

A friend said: 'Laurence and Arabella had an instant connection from the start, and had great fun together. 

'She was also very understanding of Laurence's controversial nature and was ready to embrace being a stepmother, too.

'But as time went on, their relationship just petered out. They've tried to keep things private and under the radar.'

The volatile activist proposed with a large engagement ring - in the shape of a turtle - during a luxury festive foreign holiday in December 2021.

He announced their intention to marry by placing an advert in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, under the forthcoming marriages section, which read: 'The engagement is announced between Laurence Paul Fox and Arabella May Fleetwood Neagle.'

Repeating the news on his social media channel to his 300,000 followers, Mr Fox added: 'She said "yes".'

Mr Fox has been outspoken about his toxic split from Billie Piper, and in March took to social media to accuse her of 'outright lies' after she claimed co-parenting their two sons was 'enormously difficult' amid the controversial actor and activist's numerous scandals.

Ms Piper, 41, who shares Winston, 12, and Eugene, eight, with the ex-GB News host finally broke her silence on the toxic split in a new interview with British Vogue, six years after their divorce.

Following its publication, Mr Fox accused her of being untruthful in a lengthy social media post and said while 'not being perfect', he'd done his best to put his children first.

He previously spoke about their parenting arrangement in 2022, claiming his ex was using their children as 'weapons' and that he'd been denied access to seeing them.

Ms Fox also accused the actress of taking him to court 'over a dozen times' since their split, making them both spend money which should be 'going towards their children's futures'.

When asked during her British Vogue interview how she navigates co-parenting  Billie had said: 'With enormous difficulty.'

She continued: 'I close everything down and keep a very strict routine with the kids so that there's consistency. I keep them close. That's all I can do... 

'What is paramount for me is the privacy and anonymity of my children. They deserve not to be extensions of the parents and to forge their own identities.'

Ms Piper added she tries to avoid hearing anything about her ex, who has hit headlines in recent weeks for a slew of controversies. 

He was recently dropped from GB News after launching into a 'sexist' rant about a female journalist and lost a high profile libel case after calling two men 'paedophiles'. 

Yet Ms Piper said she does her best to avoid being drawn into his scandals, explaining: 'I try to keep people from telling me stuff but it's really, really hard. 

'I don't read it but everyone wants to talk about it. Sometimes I have to say to people: "Please don't bring this to me, now or ever."'