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Dear Friend,
In the newsletter this week...
* Independent and Minister gets IMF growth figures wrong
* Are this year’s local elections being ‘cancelled’?
* Was Southport killer Axel Rudakubana attacked in prison?
* Government tracker
But first...
In the last week, Full Fact has identified several claims made by newspapers and politicians which have been false or misleading.
The headline of an article in the Sun claimed “SHOCK CRIME SURGE Child grooming scandal deepens as cases rocket by nearly 550% in just eight years”. We took a closer look, and found that this claim relies on figures which are not comparable.
Find out more... ([link removed])
The article was deleted after Full Fact contacted the Sun to make them aware of our concerns about the figure used.
I wrote earlier in the month ([link removed][UNIQID]#mctoc1) that we had contacted Lisa Nandy after she claimed that the OECD had projected the UK would be the fastest-growing economy in Europe, as of writing we have yet to receive a reply.
Best wishes,
Craig, Digital Campaigns Manager—Full Fact
** Independent and Minister gets IMF growth figures wrong ([link removed])
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Full Fact’s AI tools identified a claim made by health minister Karin Smyth on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions that the UK is on track to become the “fastest growing economy in Europe”. At the same time, a headline published by the Independent similarly stated that the IMF forecast that the UK was “set to be the fastest growing European economy”.
Ms Smyth’s office told Full Fact she misspoke and had intended to refer to “major” European economies, meaning those in the G7, while the Independent updated its headline after we got in touch.
Read more ([link removed])
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** Are this year’s local elections being ‘cancelled’? ([link removed])
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In recent weeks we’ve seen lots of claims about council elections in May being “cancelled”—from politicians, in the media and on social media, where some have also suggested the elections have been cancelled “till 2027” or are set to be cancelled “for the first time since World War II”.
Some councils with elections scheduled for May 2025 have asked to postpone them due to a reorganisation of local government, but we don’t yet know which, if any, will be delayed.
Read more ([link removed])
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** Was Southport killer Axel Rudakubana attacked in prison? ([link removed])
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Claims that Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been seriously attacked in his cell by other prisoners are circulating online.
The Ministry of Justice has said they are not true, and Rudakubana has not been attacked.
Read more ([link removed])
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** Government tracker ([link removed])
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Full Fact’s most recent updates to our tracker of government policy.
Monday 27th January
* Has the government created a new Border Security Command? ([link removed])
Friday 24th January
* Has the government ‘set out the path’ to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence? ([link removed])
Thursday 23rd January
* Is the government on course to secure ‘the highest sustained growth in the G7’? ([link removed])
Discover our Government tracker ([link removed])
* Facebook warnings about dangerous couple are fake ([link removed])
* Norway is not boycotting 2026 World Cup qualifiers with Israel ([link removed])
* Facebook posts about lost man showing up on doorsteps are a hoax ([link removed])
Read our latest fact checks ([link removed])
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All the best,
Team Full Fact
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