We've looked at what exactly the PM told MPs. 

27 May 2022 | Full Fact's weekly news
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FACT CHECK
Did the Prime Minister mislead Parliament over ‘Partygate’?

“Whatever the initial intent, what took place at many of these gatherings and the way in which they developed was not in line with Covid guidance at the time.”
—Sue Gray’s report

The findings of the Sue Gray report have led to renewed questions over what Boris Johnson previously told MPs. We’ve taken another look at what exactly the Prime Minister said, and why he’s been accused of misleading Parliament.

Allegations of illegal gatherings in Downing Street were first raised in Parliament on 1 December 2021. The PM was asked if there had been a party on 18 December 2020. He responded that “all guidance was followed completely in Number 10”. A week later he told Parliament “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken.”

Of this event, which Mr Johnson did not attend, Sue Gray’s report finds: “Some members of staff drank excessively. The event was crowded and noisy such that some people working elsewhere in the No 10 building that evening heard significant levels of noise coming from what they characterised as a “party” in the Press Office. A cleaner who attended the room the next morning noted that there had been red wine spilled on one wall and on a number of boxes of photocopier paper.”

We cover other dates in our full fact check. But the Prime Minister’s previous claim that “all guidance” was followed “at all times” in Downing Street is clearly contradicted by the outcome of the Metropolitan Police investigation, which resulted in 126 Fixed Penalty Notices issued in connection with the events.

Mr Johnson has himself since acknowledged that what he told Parliament was not correct, saying that while he did not at the time consider any breaches to have taken place, he subsequently accepted that some of the events were against the rules.

However, while Mr Johnson appears to have accepted that he inadvertently misled Parliament, he has strongly denied knowingly misleading Parliament. That is a very different question which has been referred for investigation by the cross-party Commons Privileges Committee.
Our fact check ([link removed])

Public trust in politics was broken long before Sue Gray began her investigation.

This week’s report made clear that Parliament was not given a full account of the gatherings and rule-breaking that took place during lockdown.

So far this year Full Fact has called out dozens of MPs, across the political divide, who have misled the public and failed to correct themselves when challenged. MPs now face a simple choice: put up with a culture of dishonesty, or demand better. Truth shouldn’t be optional in our democracy.

It’s time all MPs stood up for honesty in politics.

Will Moy—Chief executive
Full Fact
EMAIL YOUR MP
Parliament must act on the Online Safety Bill ([link removed])

The Government’s Online Safety Bill sets out its plans to protect the public from bad information. But at present, it leaves us all vulnerable.

Will, our chief executive, gave evidence to MPs yesterday ([link removed]) about how they can improve the legislation over the next crucial few weeks.

Full Fact has spent months scrutinising the Bill. But we need your help to make sure MPs understand our concerns.

Can you ask your MP to make sure the Online Safety Bill protects us all from harm?
Yes, I'll send an email ([link removed])

You can read more about what Full Fact wants to see from an improved Online Safety Bill, including better safeguards for freedom of expression, in our article for PoliticsHome ([link removed]) .
FACT CHECK
Most Britons are not projected to be obese by 2040 ([link removed])

"Most Britons will have lost obesity battle in 20 years."
—Daily Express

While the wording of this headline isn’t entirely clear, if this means that the majority of Britons will be obese in 20 years time, then this report is not accurate.

The Cancer Research UK report on which the story is based does project an increase in obesity—but it actually forecasts that 36% of Britons aged 16+ will be obese or severely obese by 2040. That’s not “most.”

The report projects that within the next decade, the number of adults (16+) in the UK defined as obese or severely obese—that is, having a Body Mass Index (BMI) above 30—will outnumber those with a healthy BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9.

However, that doesn’t mean that “most Britons” will be obese in 20 years. The proportion of adults in the UK projected to be obese or severely obese by 2040 is still less than the proportion projected not to be, which includes those overweight, of a healthy weight or underweight.

In 2019, 28% of people in the UK were defined as obese or severely obese, so these figures do still project a significant increase in obesity levels in the UK over the next 20 years.

While it’s true that the report projects that most adults in the UK (70.6%) will be either overweight, obese or severely obese in 2040, that is in fact already the case, with a total of 64.3% of UK adults in those categories in 2019.
What the report says ([link removed])
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