ACTORS’ union Equity has apologised to Laurence Fox and agreed an out-of-court settlement for calling him a “disgrace”.

Its minority ethnic members’ committee had attacked the Lewis star, 41, on Twitter over his comments on BBC Question Time in January.

The union said yesterday: “It was a mistake for the organisation to criticise him in this way.

"Nothing in Equity’s later statement was intended as a slur on his character or views, or to suggest that he should be denied the ability to work. We would like to make that clear.

“Equity and Laurence Fox condemn prejudice unequivocally.”

Committee chair Daniel York Loh quit, saying the apology was “not in my name”.

On Question Time, Fox, 41, questioned the presence of Sikh soldiers in war movie 1917 and argued the media’s treatment of the Duchess Of Sussex was not racist.

'WATER OFF A DUCK'S BACK'

Fox sparked controversy on Question Time earlier this year when he responded to a claim from an audience member that the media's treatment of the Duchess of Sussex amounted to "racism".

"It's not racism … we're the most tolerant, lovely country in Europe," he said.

"It's so easy to throw the charge of racism and it's really starting to get boring now."

The audience member then described Fox as a "white, privileged male", to which he responded: "To call me a white, privileged male is to be racist."

During his appearance he also questioned the presence of Sikh soldiers in war movie 1917.

The episode received more than 250 complaints and sparked a social media backlash, which Fox called "water off a duck's back".

A source close to the star said: “He is pleased and grateful to Equity for this decision.

“He now looks forward to moving on in his professional and personal life after a very difficult period for him and his family.”

Fox complained that “Equity called (amongst other things) for actors to denounce me”, saying it had “been very hard to deal with”

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