Rishi Sunak and Greg Hands called out for ‘unacceptable’ spread of disinformation

Full Fact warned that repeating misleading claims can destroy trust in our democracy

The Prime Minister and the Tory Party Chairman have been told to stop spreading disinformation after repeating a misleading claim about Labour’s migration plans, despite having already being told it was inaccurate.

The charity Full Fact, which tackles false or misleading claims, has written to Rishi Sunak and MP Greg Hands for a second time saying it is “unacceptable” that they had repeated the claim having already been warned it was based on unreliable information.

Sunak and Hands have said that Labour is pledging to open Britain’s border to 100,000 more migrants each year. However the figure has been discredited, as it is based on an assumption about a hypothetical returns agreement that Labour has not said it would sign up to.

After the Tories made the misleading claim in September, Rishi Sunak repeated it in his keynote party conference speech and Full Fact wrote to the party informing them that it was, in fact, not true urging them to avoid using unfounded statements. But alas, they went and repeated it again.

According to Full Fact, more than 2,700 people wrote to the Prime Minister asking that the claim not be repeated, however days later Greg Hands repeated it in a column in the Express newspaper.

The charity has now called on the Prime Minister and Tory Chairman to “show leadership” by not spreading misleading claims including about other political parties, especially before a general election. As it seems Tory MPs are resorting to desperate bids to stoke fear and cling to credibility.

In their letter to Sunak and Hands, Full Fact wrote: “Spreading misinformation about political opponents is damaging to our democracy and it is important that you stop repeating this claim.

“Past Full Fact research showed that 9 in 10 members of the public thought it was unacceptable for a politician to repeat claims that have been shown to be misleading.

“We are publicly calling on you to show leadership and not initiate or contribute to the spread of misleading claims, including about other political parties.

“As elected representatives, you have a duty to voters to lead with honesty. Any claims you make should be based on reliable information. With a general election on the horizon, we want to be reassured that you will do everything possible not to mislead voters.

“We informed you that the 100,000 figure was not reliable because it is based on a number of assumptions about a hypothetical returns agreement, including that the UK would be part of an EU quota system even though it is not in the EU, that the UK would be “forced” to relocate migrants rather than contribute financially (as is an option for EU member states), and that the quota system would relocate all asylum applicants arriving in the EU among member states, which is a misinterpretation of the EU proposal. Labour has said it will not sign up to an EU quota scheme.”

The letter concludes: “The public are deeply concerned about untruthful behaviours from politicians, as are we. We would be grateful if you’d let us know what action you take in relation to our request.”

(Image credit: Number 10 / Creative Commons)

Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward, focusing on trade unions and environmental issues

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