Dan Wootton fundraiser with £35k in donations 'pulled' amid GB News suspension
A crowd fundraiser set up by Dan Wootton to help with the financial cost of suing a news channel who had made a slew of allegations against him for defamation is no longer active or available to view online.
The New Zealand born journalist, 40, set up a campaign titled "Stop Dan Wootton being cancelled by far left online smears" in July this year in a bid to sue the news publication the Byline Times. Wootton - who along with Laurence Fox was suspended by GB News on Wednesday - raised over £35,000 in under three days upon launching the fundraiser on Democracy 3.0.
Wootton's fundraising page, where he told supporters and potential donors "a hard left blog is on a deranged campaign of harassment designed to destroy me financially, mentally and professionally, is currently not online. Links previously shared on social media by Wootton now land a page displaying the message: "404 page not found."
The Mirror has contacted representatives for Wootton and Democracy 3.0 for clarity on Wootton’s campaign.
The link to Dan Wootton's fundraising page now displays this messageWootton launched the campaign following the Byline Times reporting on a number of allegations against him, alleging the suspended GB News presenter used a fake online persona to bribe several men into revealing compromising sexual material over at least a 10-year period. Wootton vehemently denied any criminal wrongdoing upon the report being published.
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In its initial report, the Byline Times alleged Wootton "hid behind fake online identities to trick and bribe scores of men into revealing compromising sexual material". Byline Times claims to have seen "extensive evidence" to prove that over a period of 10 years, Wootton posed as a fictitious showbiz agent called Martin Branning to offer sums of up to £30,000 "tax free" to his alleged targets.
The Mirror has spoken to one former colleague of Wootton who was in contact with a Martin Branning but we are yet to independently verify any link between Branning and Wootton. Byline Times alleges two of Wootton’s alleged targets made criminal complaints to Scotland Yard before learning the real identity of their tormentor. The outlet reports it handed a 28-page dossier of evidence to the Metropolitan Police for investigation on 20 June 2023.
Both Wootton and Fox were suspended by GB News on Wednesday (GB News)Wootton's crowdfunder on Democracy 3.0 was launched with a target of £150,000 on Friday July 14, with the broadcaster writing: "I am advised that I have a good case for legal action, and Byline is already on notice of my legal complaint." By the following Monday, Wootton had received £35,421 in donations.
On the now offline fundraising page, Wootton described news publication the Byline Times as a "hard left blog" on a "deranged campaign of harassment designed to destroy me financially, mentally and professionally". Speaking on his GB News show on July 18, the former Lorraine showbiz correspondent claimed he was the victim of a "witch hunt" by "nefarious players", alleging "dark forces" were attempting to bring down GB News.
In response, Peter Jukes, co-founder and executive editor of the Byline Times, said: "We have pursued this story because of alleged personal behaviours and things we believe are wrong individually in terms of having false identities and catfishing – that has nothing to do with Dan Wootton’s politics, it has nothing to do with his time at GB News, because nearly all of the evidence we have predates that."
Wootton was suspended by GB News on Wednesday (September 27) following comments made by former actor Laurence Fox during Wootton's show the night before. In a statement shared on Twitter, the opinion-led news channel said: "GB News has suspended Dan Wootton following comments made on his programme by Laurence Fox last night. This follows our decision earlier today to formally suspend Mr Fox. We are conducting a full investigation."
During the GB News broadcast on Tuesday night, Wootton and Fox discussed Ms Evans comments made by the former LBC producer during her appearance BBC Politics Live on Monday, with the journalist attracting attention due to her remarks about men's mental health. Following her appearance on the BBC show, Ms Evans tweeted: "I was a little rash on my anti-minister for men comments which I do regret and am actually very interested in a brief for a minister on young men’s mental health."
Fox appeared on Tonight on Tuesday night, during which the actor turned aspiring politician . During the broadcast, Fox referred to Ms Evans as a "little woman" and declared: "We don’t need these sort of feminist 4.0" who, he said, are "pathetic and embarrassing", adding: "Who would want to shag that?"
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