Rishi Sunak’s New Year speech fact checked
We’ve looked at some of the claims made by the PM in his first speech of 2023. Read
Analysis
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.
Boris Johnson’s final speech as PM: fact checked
We’ve checked six key claims from Boris Johnson’s final speech as Prime Minister, on the vaccine rollout, NHS, schools and more. Read
Analysis
Immigration
The facts about people seeking asylum in the UK
The number of people applying for asylum in the UK looks to increase slightly this year, but the proportion who are arriving in boats across the Channel has increased significantly. Read
Analysis
Europe
Morrisons chicken sparks backlash
A picture of a chicken from Morrisons has gone viral for packaging stating the salt and pepper used are “non-EU”. Morrisons says this is to comply with legal requirements, not to “make a geopolitical Read
Analysis
Economy, Business & Finance
What the National Insurance rise means for the tax burden
It’s been claimed the NI rise will take the tax burden to the highest level “in history”, in peacetime, since 1948, since 1950 and since 1969. Read
Analysis
Health
PHE says no need to restart vaccination course in pregnancy after second dose delay
There’s no problem with booking your second dose, even if it’s been a considerable amount of time since your first. Read
Analysis
Health
Covid-19 and flu comparisons reappraised
The health secretary has been criticised for saying we have to live with Covid as we do with flu. But how do the two compare, now most adults are vaccinated? Read
Analysis
Are senior civil servants really as privileged as they were 50 years ago?
The proportion of senior civil servants classed as being from a lower socioeconomic band has remained about the same, but the size of that band overall has shrunk considerably. Read
Analysis
Environment
Animal sentience in UK law
Animal welfare laws in the UK already acknowledge that animals can feel pain and suffer, but it has not been spelled out explicitly that they are sentient as in EU law. Read
Analysis
Health
‘Why would we suddenly go to them and lie?’: How councils and communities are working together to fight vaccine misinformation
For councils, increasing vaccine uptake is a matter of increasing accessibility and addressing fears by fighting misinformation. We spoke to councils across England to find out how they’re doing it. Read
Analysis
