The number of prison escapes has been falling since the 1990s
We looked into the figures after the PM claimed prison escapes were 10 times higher under the last Labour government. Read
Fact check
Hannah Smith
Senior Political Journalist
Hannah joined Full Fact as a fact checker in May 2022. Before that she wrote news and features for UNILAD. She is a qualified journalist, and also has a degree in history.
The Energy Bill will not make failing to comply with ‘Net Zero targets’ a criminal offence
Posts on social media which claim a new law will mean people can be fined £15,000 or sent to jail if they don’t comply with energy regulations misunderstand the legislation. Read
Fact check
Old video of fight in Ukrainian parliament re-emerges on social media
Footage of a fight breaking out in Ukraine’s legislature being shared online was actually filmed in 2010. Read
Fact check
Independent corrects claim former top civil servant ‘voted for Brexit’
A headline published by the newspaper claimed Lord McDonald of Salford said he voted for Brexit. He actually revealed that he voted to remain in the EU. Read
Fact check
Crime
The number of band 3-5 prison officers increased by 701 in the year to 30 June 2023
Justice secretary Alex Chalk claimed that the number of full-time equivalent band 3-5 prison staff had increased by over 700 “since 30 June 2023”. Read
Fact check
Economy, Business & Finance
House prices haven’t fallen to a 14-year low
A since-deleted post from the Daily Telegraph wrongly claimed house prices had fallen to “14-year lows”. Read
Fact check
Crime
Minister overstates increase in prison officer numbers
Michelle Donelan MP wrongly claimed the number of frontline prison officers has “increased by 20%” in the last year. Read
Fact check
Education
What do the figures on persistent absence from school show?
We’ve looked into the data after a series of claims regarding pupil absence rates in England were made on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Read
Fact check
Immigration
BBC article overstated increase in asylum application withdrawals
The BBC has corrected an article which claimed only 60 asylum cases were withdrawn over a 12 month period after being contacted by Full Fact. Read
Fact check
London’s Low Emission Zone and Ultra Low Emission Zone are two separate schemes
A since-corrected Daily Mail article wrongly claimed that the Low Emission Zone in London “became known as ULEZ” after being extended in 2019. Read
Fact check
