Law
Fact checks about UK law, how legal systems work, justice and human rights
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.
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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.
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Is sharing photographs of prisoners of war banned by the Geneva Convention?
Legal opinion suggests sharing photographs of prisoners of war doesn’t necessarily breach the Convention—but it still may be better not to do so.
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Fake government guidance is wrong about face masks and equality laws
A post on Instagram misquotes sections of the Equality Act.
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Claims on ‘Colston Four’ case leave out key questions the jury had to answer
Claims that what the four defendants admitted to did legally amount to criminal damage omit key parts of the definition of the offence.
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Laws can be made without a parliamentary vote, contrary to the health secretary’s claim
New Covid face mask rules, for example, came into force before Parliament voted on the matter.
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No evidence asylum seekers have used pets to argue against deportation
A previously debunked claim about people being granted the right to live in the UK because they own a pet here has reappeared.
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Do police normally investigate things that happened a year ago?
Asked about an alleged party at Downing Street during lockdown, Dominic Raab claimed police ‘don’t normally’ investigate alleged offences which took place a year ago.
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Poll didn’t indicate the majority want a new Covid-19 lockdown
There is no indication that the poll, carried out amongst Independent readers, included a representative sample of respondents.
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Canada is not implementing a social credit scheme
A Facebook post falsely claims a scheme that monitors the actions of businesses and citizens and uses financial sanctions as punishments will soon be used in Canada.
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