Viral posts about a baby being snatched from a hospital are false
Several widely-shared posts wrongly claim a newborn baby has been stolen from a UK hospital by a woman dressed as a nurse. Read
Fact checks
Crime
It's hard to measure crime, which can make news stories seem more worrying than they really are. We look past the headlines to explain the full picture.
What payouts do ministers receive when they leave office?
Government ministers under 65 are entitled to severance pay when they leave office, as long as they don’t return within three weeks. Read
Fact checks
Rape has not been legalised in the UK
A video posted on Facebook claims that rape is now legal and offenders can escape punishment if they apologise. Read
Fact checks
Crime
No evidence half of UK was victim of online crime in past year
We couldn’t find any data to support a claim made by a former police watchdog on the Today programme. Read
Fact checks
European Court of Human Rights not involved in 2014 deportation case
The court was not involved in the decision to overturn the deportation of a Libyan man convicted of 78 offences in the UK. Read
Fact checks
Australian grandmother did not shoot two rapists
A Facebook post claiming an Australian grandmother shot off the testicles of two men who raped her granddaughter is not true. Read
Fact checks
The World Economic Forum does not have its own paramilitary force
An Instagram post depicting a police officer wearing a WEF badge is not proof the forum has its own force. Read
Fact checks
Article 61 of the Magna Carta doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay council tax
Those liable do have to pay council tax, and nothing in the Magna Carta stops that being the case. Read
Fact checks
Crime
Man wasn’t jailed only for staring at a woman on the train
A Spectator article recently claimed that a man had been sentenced to 22 weeks in prison after “continuously staring” at a woman. Read
Fact checks
10% of criminal barristers haven’t quit in the past year
The number of criminal barristers has stayed steady, but the number working full-time on publicly-funded cases has fallen. Read
Fact checks
