What was claimed
A photo shows a young Keir Starmer decorating a Christmas tree with Jimmy Savile.
Our verdict
This photo has been edited to include Savile’s face. The original image shows the PM with an older woman, reportedly his grandmother.
Thousands share faked photo of Keir Starmer and Jimmy Savile decorating a Christmas tree
An image that appears to show Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer decorating a Christmas tree with serial sex abuser Jimmy Savile has been shared thousands of times online.
But this picture has been edited to include Savile’s face.
In the image, a younger Mr Starmer appears next to Savile, who died in 2011. But the original photo shows the PM with a different person, and was published by the Guardian in May 2024 with the caption: “Starmer with his grandmother”.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen altered or fake images that appear to show the PM with Savile—one photo supposedly showing them together was actually taken 11 years after Savile died.
We’ve also debunked edited images that appear to show former American Vice President Kamala Harris with deceased sex offender Jeffery Epstein, as well as Boris Johnson and Canada’s PM Mark Carney with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
Before sharing media that you see online it’s important to consider whether it comes from a trustworthy and verifiable source. Our toolkits and guide to spotting misleading images can help you better navigate media online.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as altered because this photo has been edited. The original photo reportedly shows Mr Starmer with his grandmother.