Former ex-health minister Matt Hancock MP is set to head to trial against former Tory MP Andrew Bridgen after a judge dismisses his strike-out application.

The legal feud between two independent politicians kicked off in January 2023, when Hancock posted on social media about Bridgen after the Tories suspended him over a “disgraceful” tweet.

Bridgen, formerly a Tory MP, was suspended by the party over a post that appeared to say the delay in releasing safety data on Covid-19 vaccines was the worst crime since the Holocaust.

That tweet was widely condemned and has since been deleted by him.

Hancock took to social media to share a post on his question at PMQ, which stated: “The disgusting and dangerous antisemitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories spouted by a sitting MP this morning are unacceptable and have absolutely no place in our society.”

Bridgen threatened Hancock with legal action if he didn’t “apologise publicly” for calling him “an antisemite and racist”.

The parties went to a hearing last month as Hancock’s legal representatives sought an order to throw out the libel claim that faced him.