A selected list of misleading statements that Peter Oborne has sent to the Speaker of the House of Commons
“It is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament, correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity. Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the Prime Minister.”
Ministerial Code
25 July 2019 “We kept [the murder rate in London] at fewer than 100 a year for four or five years running.” Boris Johnson, first statement to the Commons as Prime Minister
The Metropolitan Police collects data on the number of homicides (murder, manslaughter and infanticide) and not murder specifically. We assume that Johnson is referring to homicide statistics.
However, official figures show that the number of homicides only fell below 100 once during his tenure as Mayor of London, to 95 in 2014. In his last full year in office, 2015, it was 120.
25 July 2019 “We reduced knife crime in London with a very active policy of stop and search.” Boris Johnson, first statement to the Commons as Prime Minister
Johnson’s claim is contradicted by a Home Office impact assessment of Operation Blunt 2 – the crackdown on knife crime that began shortly after he became Mayor in 2008. While knife crime did come down during his time as Mayor, the assessment found that “there was no discernible crime-reducing effects from a large surge in stop and search activity at the borough level during the operation”.
22 October 2019 “There will be no checks between NI and GB.” Boris Johnson, House of Commons
Only the previous day, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay had said that paperwork would be required for goods sent between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government’s own impact assessment on the Brexit withdrawal agreement states: “Goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be required to complete both import declarations and Entry Summary (ENS) Declarations because the UK will be applying the EU’s UCC (Union Custom Code) in Northern Ireland.”
Furthermore, in 2021, the first goods crossed the new trade border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK on 1 January, with lorries being met by officials and directed to new border control posts. Many food products from Great Britain now have to enter Northern Ireland through these border posts where they can be inspected by the Department of Agriculture. These products also need health certificates, though some of the new certification processes will be phased in over the next three months.
23 October 2019 “They said that we would never get it through Parliament, and they did their utmost to stop it going through Parliament, but we got it through Parliament last night.” Boris Johnson, Prime Minister’s Questions
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Johnson claimed that he had got his Brexit withdrawal agreement through Parliament.
However, he was referring to the vote on its second reading. The Government then lost the vote on the timetable for passing the bill, which was subsequently pulled.
It is nonsensical to claim that passing one vote on a bill amounts to the bill passing through Parliament.
29 January 2020 “The SNP has not had a debate in its Parliament on education for two years.” Boris Johnson, Prime Minister’s Questions
Since 29 January 2018, there have been six debates on motions about schools, two members’ business debates, and four statements by ministers followed by questions.
Topics covered have included subject choice, music tuition, reforms, Catholic schools and autistic children’s experiences of school.
The fact-checking organisation, Full Fact contacted Downing Street to ask for clarification, but did not receive a response.
29 January 2020 “The economy, under this Conservative Government, has grown by 73%.” Boris Johnson, Prime Minister’s Questions
Under Conservative-led governments since 2010, the UK’s GDP has grown by around 20% (depending on exactly when in the year you start counting) – not 73% as Johnson said.
73% is how much the economy grew between 1990 and 2017, which comprised 13 years of Labour Government, more than 10 years of Conservative Government and five years of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government.
The fact-checking organisation Full Fact asked Number 10 to provide the data that could stand up Johnson’s claim, but received no response.
25 February 2020 “Life expectancy is rising.” Matt Hancock, House of Commons
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, which calculates life expectancy on behalf of the UK pension industry, cut forecasted life expectancy by five months in last year’s analysis.
Furthermore, for the first time since the 1980s, we are seeing a slowdown in health improvements including a flatlining in life expectancy, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Compared with 2015, projections for life expectancy are now down by 13 months for men and 14 months for women. ONS figures also show that, in comparison with the 2016- based projections, cohort life expectancy at birth is 2.6 years lower for males and 2.7 years lower for females in 2043 than previously projected.
Labour MP Debbie Abrahams called for Matt Hancock to correct the record in February 2020. He is yet to do so.
4 March 2020 “We have restored Nurses’ Bursary.” Boris Johnson, Prime Minister’s Questions
This refers to legislation that was introduced in 1968 and provided a financial allowance to people who were studying for medical degrees.
While this Government will offer a new educational grant of £5,000 per year (increasing to £8,000 in some cases) for all nursing students on courses from September 2020, it is significantly less than the bursary system scrapped by the Conservative Party.
Under the system Johnson is referring to, which falls significantly sho