Full Fact, an independent charity of fact-checkers and campaigners, has today released a letter which was sent to the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and Conservative Party Chair, Greg Hands on Friday 13th October, warning that the claim that Labour is pledging to open Britain’s borders to 100,000 more migrants each year is ‘misleading’.
The letter warns that “spreading misinformation about political opponents is damaging to our democracy” and that the repetition of this claim is “unacceptable” and “deeply disappointing”.
Full Fact is now publicly calling on the Conservative Party to “show leadership and not initiate or contribute to the spread of misleading claims, including about other political parties” as well as asking the Prime Minister and the Conservative Party Chair for reassurance that they “will do everything possible not to mislead voters” ahead of the next general election.
100,000 figure
Full Fact first wrote to the Prime Minister and the Conservative Party Chair in September, warning 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.
The charity flagged that Labour has said it will not sign up to an EU quota scheme.
Following a repetition of this claim by the Prime Minister during his keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference earlier this month, 2,700 Full Fact supporters wrote directly to Rishi Sunak, asking him to stop making unevidenced claims. Just days later, the claim was used in a column in a national newspaper by the Conservative Party Chair, Greg Hands.
“Honest and integrity”
Glen Tarman, Head of Policy at Full Fact, said, “When Rishi Sunak took office, he promised to lead with honesty and integrity. Politicians shouldn’t need fact checkers to tell them that repeating a misleading claim is not leading with honesty.
“With an election on the horizon, it’s more important than ever that we see accountability and integrity from all political parties. But crucially, we want to see our Prime Minister lead by example. Failing to prioritise trust in politics will only continue to damage our democracy.”
Related: Women and young voters driving force as Poland turns its back on nationalism