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Introducing the government’s new Illegal Migration Bill on Tuesday, the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, claimed 100 million people around the world “could qualify for protection” under current UK laws. The 100 million figure is based on the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) estimate of the global number of forcibly displaced people.
But Ms Braverman also told Parliament that the 100 million forcibly displaced people are “coming here”, before going on to claim the following day that there are “likely billions more eager to come here if possible”.
While it is true that an increasing number of people are attempting to claim asylum in the UK, there's no data to suggest that 100 million people, or even the majority of those defined as “forcibly displaced” by the UN, are attempting to reach the UK.
We asked the UNHCR about Ms Braverman’s claim, which told us that the majority of forcibly displaced people remain within their own country, while an estimated 69% of refugees and asylum seekers who do leave their country stay in countries which neighbour their own.
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Rishi Sunak claimed that the 100 million figure “illustrates the scale of the global migration crisis”.
However, the majority of people included in the 100 million figure (around 60 million) are internally displaced, meaning they have been forced to flee or leave their homes, but have not left their country.
Also included in the 100 million figure are an estimated 26.7 million refugees under the UNHCR’s mandate, 4.9 million asylum seekers, 5.3 million other people in need of international protection, and a further 5.8 million Palestinian refugees not included under the UNHCR’s mandate.
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FACT CHECK
We spotted a suspicious looking image with thousands of retweets which looked like it was from Essex Police, and which claimed to outline the force’s recruitment strategy.
But this image is fake and Essex Police has confirmed the image has been manipulated.
The doctored image shows a fake screenshot of a post appearing to come from Essex Police’s Twitter account.
It says: “We’re hiring! Essex Police aims to be the first country-level Police Force in Britain composed of at least 50% Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic officers! The image also states that “If you’re from the correct background you can submit a streamlined application without your CV”.
Despite this, the image has spread rapidly on social media, and was also shared by musicians, Right Said Fred, receiving over 700,000 views.
We contacted Right Said Fred to see if they would correct their post, but have not received a response.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen false claims circulating about police forces, as we’ve previously fact checked claims that 52% of officers are guilty of sexual misconduct and that the Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the Covid-19 vaccine programme, among others.
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HIRING
We're recruiting for a new Senior Political Journalist.
Help us tackle misleading claims from politicians at a crucial time, as we prepare for the next general election.
The role is remote-first, with an office available in central London, and offers a salary of £36,700-£41,700 depending on experience.
Applications close on 13 March.
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FACT CHECK
Multiple posts on Twitter falsely claim that several countries pulled their ambassadors out of Turkey 24 hours before the deadly earthquake which struck the south east of the country and North Syria on 6 February 2023.
We can find no evidence to support these claims.
All the posts make reference to “ambassadors” who are based and often reside in the embassy, which is normally situated in the capital city of the host nation. All the ambassadors mentioned in the posts are based in Ankara, a city which was unaffected by the earthquake.
While each nation has only one embassy in any foreign country, it may have a number of consulates—smaller offices that provide an official presence in cities away from the capital. But we could not find evidence of any diplomats being withdrawn from consulates immediately before the earthquake either.
Some of the countries named did temporarily shut some of their consulates in Istanbul several days before the earthquake in response to a heightened risk of terrorist attacks. But Istanbul is in the north west of Turkey and, like Ankara, was unaffected by the earthquake.
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MORE FACT CHECKS
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All the best,
Team Full Fact
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