Law

Fact checks about UK law, how legal systems work, justice and human rights

11 May 2022

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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Article 61 of the Magna Carta doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay council tax
11 April 2022

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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10% of criminal barristers haven’t quit in the past year
16 March 2022

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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Is sharing photographs of prisoners of war banned by the Geneva Convention?
25 January 2022

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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Fake government guidance is wrong about face masks and equality laws
14 January 2022

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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Claims on ‘Colston Four’ case leave out key questions the jury had to answer
14 December 2021

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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Laws can be made without a parliamentary vote, contrary to the health secretary’s claim
13 December 2021

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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No evidence asylum seekers have used pets to argue against deportation
8 December 2021

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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Do police normally investigate things that happened a year ago?
8 November 2021

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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Poll didn’t indicate the majority want a new Covid-19 lockdown
20 October 2021

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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Canada is not implementing a social credit scheme

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