Katie Hopkins has compared herself to Jesus in the wake of her defeat by food writer Jack Monroe in a libel action against her. Hopkins, who may now face costs of up to £300,000, posted on her Twitter account after the ruling: "I see myself as the Jesus of the outspoken."

Hopkins, who is currently promoting her memoir called Rude, which is due to be published in October by Biteback Publishing, took to Twitter after she was ordered by a judge to pay damages of £24,000 to Monroe, after insinuating via Twitter that the one-time food blogger had vandalised a war memorial.

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Though Hopkins' lawyer argued in court the matter was "relatively trivial," Justice Warby, presiding, said he was satisfied Hopkins' unfounded allegation had caused "substantial distress" and "harm to [Jack Monroe's] reputation".

Following the verdict, Hopkins tweeted a picture of herself depicted as the Virgin Mary with a bleeding heart, a quote saying "I see myself as the Jesus of the outspoken", alongside the message: "Standing strong for all those who no longer have a voice."

On the same day, Hopkins, whose articles are known more for their controversial nature than perceived messages of tolerance espoused by the Christian faith, had an article published in the Daily Mail about an attack by an axeman in Dusseldorf, which took place on Thursday.

Hopkins posted a series of tweets asking: "Aren't you sick of being told the latest terrifying attack is not terror?" in response to investigating officers who reported the attack was not thought to be motivated by terrorism.

The article went on to ask why the case of Thomas Mair – the man convicted of murder of MP Jo Cox last year – should receive so much attention as an act of terrorism.

Hopkins also suggested Cox's widow Brendan Cox may not be "driven by grief alone" and said she suspected he was "determined to… make white Brexiteers the custodians of hate".

The ruling follows the Daily Mail being ordered to pay £150,000 in damages to a family after Hopkins falsely accused them of having links to al-Qaeda in December, last year.