The judge presiding over a defamation case against Fox News has said he is likely to order an independent review to determine whether the network improperly withheld evidence, a step that could lead to sanctions.

The move by Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis came amid a burst of fresh revelations in the 1.6 billion dollar (£1.3 billion) defamation case filed by Dominion Voting Systems against the conservative network and its parent company, Fox Corp.

The judge expressed anger and frustration during a pre-trial hearing after learning that Fox only recently turned over recordings of host Maria Bartiromo talking with Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, two former lawyers for then-president Donald Trump.

Judge Davis said Dominion could question Ms Bartiromo under oath again, at Fox’s expense, though there was no immediate indication from Dominion that it would do so.

That came after the disclosure a day earlier that Fox lawyers had withheld critical information about the role played at Fox News by company founder Rupert Murdoch, who is chairman of Fox Corp.

The trial is scheduled to start on Thursday with jury selection.

Dominion alleges that Fox damaged the company by repeatedly airing false allegations that its machines and the software they used rigged the 2020 presidential election to prevent Mr Trump’s re-election.