The number of recorded crimes per person increased by 18% in London and by 31% across England.
9 Oct 2020 | Facts and news from Full Fact
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** FACT CHECK
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** Crime in London has risen less than the rest of England since Sadiq Khan was elected as mayor, not more
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Last week, journalist Dan Wootton claimed in a column in the Sun that “Since Boris Johnson stepped down as London mayor, crime in Sadiq Khan’s London has soared at five times the rate of the rest of the country.”
This is incorrect. Between the year ending June 2016 (i.e. roughly the whole year before Mr Khan was elected in May 2016), and the year to March 2020 (the latest data) the total number of recorded crimes per person increased by 18% in London and by 31% across England in general.
So not five times faster, as Mr Wootton claims, but slower.
But the change in recorded crime depends on the offence. For example, over the past year, homicides increased by 23% in London compared to 8% across England, while violence against the person in general increased by 2% in London compared to 7% across England.
Since publishing this article, the Sun has now corrected the error.
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** FACT CHECK
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** Challenging someone for not wearing a face mask isn’t a breach of the Equality Act ([link removed])
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Several Facebook users are sharing an image of text which claims that you could be in breach of the Equality Act and fined thousands of pounds if you challenge someone who is not wearing a face covering.
This is incorrect, and a pretty serious misunderstanding of the Equality Act.
Government guidance says, in summary, that you can respectfully ask someone to wear a mask, but they do not have to prove their right to exemption.
One barrister told Full Fact that a request by the owner of a business (like a shop or restaurant) to a disabled person to wear a mask is very unlikely to result in a successful civil claim for disability discrimination, as long as the business owner has followed the government guidance, and hasn’t singled out the disabled person for less favourable treatment than other non-disabled customers.
Who is exempt? ([link removed])
** FACT CHECK
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** Ordinary colds and flu are not the reason for the “second wave” ([link removed])
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A Facebook post written on 1 September, with 21,000 shares, suggested that a seasonal spike in colds and the flu is the real reason for a “second wave” of Covid-19.
Although the author appears to be based in Florida, it has been widely shared in the UK.
We can say with certainty that there has been a rise in the number of Covid-19 infections in the UK since 1 September.
We’ve seen more positive tests per day, both among people who came forward to be tested and people tested at random. The number of hospital admissions after a positive test rose in September too.
It’s not just normal cold season ([link removed])
** FACT CHECK
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** Also this week...
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* What do lockdown restrictions mean for people in relationships around the UK? ([link removed])
* What did Rishi Sunak actually say about people in the arts? ([link removed])
* How the government performed on its autumn testing targets ([link removed])
* Boris Johnson makes an error about quarantine payments ([link removed])
* A Covid-19 diagnostic test won’t pick up other coronaviruses ([link removed])
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