Abbas Panjwani

Fact Checker (former)

Abbas joined Full Fact in 2018. Before this, he worked as a social researcher, collecting quantitative and qualitative research to help inform policy development and evaluation for government departments and other public bodies. Most recently he worked as research manager at Ofgem, Great Britain’s energy regulator, and has also worked on projects for BIS, the Home Office and the Competition and Markets Authority.

3 March 2020

Europe

No, the Treasury doesn’t expect the economy to shrink if we sign a Canada-style deal with the EU

By Abbas Panjwani • 1 min

The Treasury estimates that Brexit will cause GDP to grow more slowly than if we hadn’t left the EU, but not to shrink. Read

Fact checks

28 February 2020

Europe

When arriving to an EU airport, which queue do I now use at passport control?

By Abbas Panjwani • 1 min

Continue to use the EU/EEA/Switzerland queue at European airports until the end of 2020. Read

Analysis

27 February 2020

No, milk doesn’t make a poison when mixed with cough syrup

By Abbas Panjwani • 2 mins

A viral Facebook post claiming four children died after being given a toxic mix of milk and cough syrup is false. Mixing milk and cough syrup doesn’t form a poison. Read

Fact checks

27 February 2020

Boris Johnson did write that “blue collar” men are likely to be drunk, criminal, aimless, feckless and hopeless

By Abbas Panjwani • 1 min

In a 1995 Spectator article, Boris Johnson wrote that ”blue collar” men are likely to be drunk, criminal, aimless, feckless and hopeless. Read

Fact checks

21 February 2020

Europe

You can have freedom of movement outside the EU if you’re in the single market

By Leo Benedictus and Abbas Panjwani • 3 mins

Norway and some other countries follow the free movement rules of the single market without being EU members. Read

Fact checks

20 February 2020

Economy, Business & Finance

Who are “economically inactive” people, and could they join the work force?

By Abbas Panjwani • 3 mins

Economically inactive people don’t have a job, and they aren’t classed as unemployed because they’re not looking for or able to start a new job. Read

Analysis

19 February 2020

Economy, Business & Finance

Whether wages have passed their pre-crisis level depends on whether you include bonuses

By Abbas Panjwani • 2 mins

Average wages excluding bonuses have surpassed the 2008 peak, but wages including bonuses haven’t yet. Read

Fact checks

17 February 2020

Health

Research suggesting health benefits of golf could also suggest benefits of being rich

By Abbas Panjwani • 3 mins

Golfers in a study were less likely to die prematurely than other over 65s but the research didn’t prove that golf was the reason why. Read

Fact checks

10 February 2020

Immigration

Unpublished Home Office target needs explaining

By Abbas Panjwani • 3 mins

Figures reportedly briefed by the Home Office suggest that migration law change could cut unskilled EU migration by 90,000. That’s higher than the number of unskilled EU migrants coming to the UK now. Read

Fact checks

10 February 2020

Education

One in seven parents don’t read to their 7-9 year-old for more than 15 minutes per week

By Abbas Panjwani • 2 mins

Research found one in seven parents spend less than 15 minutes a week reading to their young children, but that doesn’t mean one in seven children are read to for less than 15 minutes. Read

Fact checks