Category: Lies

Vaccine Chancer

by Helen Rennie-Smith, posted in Brexit, Lies

The British Government has been lauded for its successful vaccination programme to stem the spread of Covid-19. Government ministers and the tabloid press like to give the impression that Britain is “world beating”, as if it was a competition between countries. But if it were a competition – where is Britain on the chart above?

Zooming in on the Government’s approach, it does seem they took some chances, which could prove to be devastating for the people involved. They actually submitted citizens to a vast unmonitored clinical trial.

  1. Approval of vaccine was rushed through without all formalities in place.
  2. Contrary to the manufacturers’ advice and results in their clinical trials the period between the first jab and the second was stretched out from three weeks to three months.
  3. Claims were made that the vaccination success was a result of Brexit, which is totally untrue.

Up until now, we seem to have been very lucky and no unexpected side effects have been reported, as now appears to be the case in Denmark. There are now even some theories that the immunisation may be more effective if the second dose is administered later than three weeks after the first.

For everyone who received one dose only and is still waiting for the second dose, this is good news. However, the fact remains – the British Government took a huge risk when it acted against scientific advice.

Furthermore, we’re still way behind many countries in having the population fully vaccinated. The latest statistics, thanks to Our World in Data, show Britain in 17th place.

Freeport Fibs

by Helen Rennie-Smith, posted in Brexit, Lies

When the Chancellor Rishi Sunak presented the budget on 3 March 2021 he proudly announced that Britain will get eight new freeports. He said:

“A policy we can only pursue now we’re outside the European Union:
Freeports.
Freeports are special economic zones with different rules to make it easier and cheaper to do business.”
Read the whole speech at the Government’s website.

It’s an idea that was floated by Boris Johnson in 2019 during his candidacy for leadership together with a misleading statement that we had to wait until after Brexit.

Facts show, however, that presently there are some 80 freeports in the EU and Britain actually had five freeports up until 2012, when the then conservative government chose to not renew the legislation for them.

Photo: © Ilyas Tayfun Salci/Shutterstock

List of Lies

by Helen Rennie-Smith, posted in Lies

For hundreds, even thousands, of years it has been a common perception that politicians sometimes have to be economical with the truth. It is not unusual that politicians are accused of not keeping their promises after they’ve been elected.

However, since the summer of 2019 representatives of the British Government has been seen to regularly bend the truth, often in a way which in a different era would have called for resignations. Below are some examples:

28 August 2019 – A small privy council gives the Queen misleading advice as to why she must prorogue Parliament for five weeks. On 24 September the Supreme Court ruled the decision unlawful, watch the video.

22 November 2019 – At Question Time, Boris Johnson says he does not want to interfere in with the normal timetable of publishing a report about Russian interference in British democracy. It turns out he was actually the one interfering by delaying publishing of said report.

29 November 2019 – Boris Johnson claims that a £34 billion increase to the NHS is the biggest in living memory, while a fact check easily shows this is not the case.

6 December 2019 – All through the election campaign in November and December 2019 Boris Johnson repeatedly promised that there would be no tariffs and no border checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland after Brexit. Watch one such occasion from a press conference in Kent. Since Brexit happened on 1 January 2021, we know this is not the case.

8 December 2019 – Boris Johnson predicts a “Brexit baby boom” in an interview in Sunday Times. He goes on to boast that he also “prophesised” a baby boom after the London Olympics in 2012 and claims it happened. The fact is there was a baby boom in 2012, but a fall of 4% in nativity the following year.

17 June 2020 – Boris Johnson denies claims that 600,000 children are living in poverty and states that 400,000 fewer families live in poverty than ten years earlier. The Office for Statistics Regulations later proves this number to be incorrect. Read the Children’s Commissioner’s fact check.

2 December 2020 – Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg claim that Brexit made it possible to start the vaccination programme against Covid-19 ahead of other countries in the EU. At the time, the UK was still bound by EU legislation which means that it could have been done with or without Brexit, as stated by the BBC.

Above is listed but a few of the present Government’s alternative facts. There are many much more comprehensive lists online. Do read for instance Boris Johnson’s Lies and The New European for more details.