Fact-Checking UK Politics: Immigration, NHS Waiting Lists, and Corrections

Full Fact checks claims on UK politics, immigration, and NHS waiting lists. Corrections from politicians and media are highlighted, alongside ongoing debates on asylum hotels and migrant costs.

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Former Downing Street interactions supervisor and host of The Relax Is Politics podcast Alastair Campbell has actually fixed a claim he made regarding Work’s record on closing so-called ‘asylum hotels’, after being called by Full Reality.

Alastair Campbell’s Correction on Asylum Hotels

Most of the 35,052 returns were volunteer returns. Implemented returns– the category which includes deportations– represented a minority (9,115 or 26%) of the overall returns that happened in between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025, according to impromptu information that was published by the government last month.

NHS England started to release a price quote for the number of people on the waiting list in November 2023. Since then, we have actually acted sometimes to deal with complication between estimates for the variety of individuals and the variety of cases.

NHS Waiting List Confusion Addressed

Our AI devices discovered a blog post by Mr Legislation last month which originally stated: “There more than 7 million people on waiting checklists in England, more than Scotland’s population.” As a matter of fact, as you can see in our explainer, the variety of individuals on the waiting checklist was most just recently reported to be 6.26 million. They were associated with around 7.41 million situations. The figures vary as some people are waiting for therapy for greater than something.

As we have actually formerly discussed, based on main government information neither the general number of immigration returns neither the number of enforced returns executed throughout Work’s first year in office is a record for a 12-month duration.

Debate Over Immigration Returns

In the House of Commons today, complying with discussion of the flattened China spy case, the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and darkness housing assistant James Smartly clashed over comments Mr Starmer attributed to Mr Cleverly during his period as international secretary in 2023.

China Policy: Starmer vs. Cleverly

But this isn’t fix. As we’ve explained several timesbefore, there were 35,052 immigration returns during Work’s very first year in federal government– but not all immigration returns satisfy the main meaning of a ‘deportation’.

Neither the Home Office neither the Workplace for National Data (ONS) currently publish price quotes of the UK’s total irregular migrant populace, and in a 2019 record the ONS said: “By its actual nature, it is very difficult to know the exact dimension of the unlawfully resident populace and because of the obstacles in making reputable estimates the federal government has actually not generated any official quotes given that the mid-2000s.”.

Irregular Migrant Population Estimates

Dispute in this region has been ongoing since 2014– eight years prior to Russia’s major intrusion of Ukraine began– when Russian-backed separationists in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, which make up Donbas, escaped from the Ukrainian federal government.

On 22 September, in an interview detailing his celebration’s plan to end ILR, and in doing so stop international nationals from claiming benefits, both Mr Farage and head of Reform UK’s Division of Federal government Efficiency Zia Yusuf described this figure as the amount travelers would certainly set you back the UK. We have actually not located any kind of proof of Mr Farage directly claiming this number referred exclusively to advantages repayments.

Farage’s Claim on Traveler Costs

In a correction note the Guardian stated the unreliable insurance claim was based on a statement made by a government preacher.

While it holds true that the number of resorts being used to house asylum applicants dropped from over 400 at its height in the summer of 2023 to 210 since July this year, almost all of this reduction occurred while the Conservatives were still in government.

Asylum Hotel Numbers: Fact vs. Fiction

While the ad hoc statistics released by the government last month do not contain a breakdown of how many of the 35,052 returns were people who had shown up by little boat, the latest release of normal data from the Office reveals that 2,330, or regarding 7%, of the 35,833 volunteer and enforced returns that occurred in the year finishing June 2025 were of individuals that had actually arrived by small watercraft.

This is not what this number refers to, and we’re thankful to the Daily Mail for fixing its post after we contacted us. The number is in fact Reform UK’s price quote of the overall net financial savings to taxpayers, not simply on advantages– though the number is challenged and based upon a now-withdrawn brain trust price quote.

And last week, after we contacted us, the Guardian eliminated an incorrect statement in its e-newsletter, which asserted that “the number of hotels made use of to house asylum hunters has actually halved in the year considering that Work took power”. In a modification note the Guardian said the imprecise case was based on a statement made by a federal government minister. When asked, the federal government has not yet fixed this case.

We have actually likewise asked the Office to fix priest Lord Hanson’s insurance claim on LBC, detected by our AI devices, that: “We’ve cut in half the variety of resorts that were in use at the optimal of the Tory government’s resort usage.” The Office hasn’t yet responded.

But as we’ve composed before, we don’t know with any certainty how many people are in the UK without the right to be right here. The University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory has actually warned that studies attempting to put a number on the UK’s unauthorised migrant populace need to be treated with care because of large margins of mistake.

As we explained in a truth check previously this week, while it is real that the number of resorts being utilized to house asylum applicants has actually reduced from a peak of over 400 in summertime 2023 to 210 as of July 2025, practically all of this reduction took place prior to Work came into federal government.

We are grateful to Mr Lammy for doing something about it to correct the document in this instance. This represents finest practice, and stands in contrast with the numerous adjustment requests we on a regular basis make to federal government preachers and resistance politicians that get no reaction.

The CPS told Complete Reality that profits settlements would “constitute only a fraction” of this estimated price. Due to the fact that the ₤ 234 billion number has actually currently been taken out, we have actually not taken a look at how much of this estimate may be as a result of advantages payments. The CPS claimed it intends to publish updated figures based upon the changed information “in due course”.

On BBC Breakfast [34.15], the head of Reform UK’s division of government effectiveness Zia Yusuf asserted: “There are north of a million people in this country unlawfully, at the very least– the real number’s probably higher than that. There are north of around 600,000 men that remain in this nation unlawfully.”.

Reform UK’s Claims on Illegal Migrants

Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders are in Washington DC today to meet United States head of state Donald Trump, following the latter’s top with Russian head of state Vladimir Putin last Friday (15 August).

The now-withdrawn ₤ 234 billion was not a quote of the expense of advantages payments to migrants, but rather a quote of the net lifetime fiscal expense of the approximately 800,000 migrants the CPS estimated can obtain ILR in the coming years.

Ukraine Conflict and Territorial Demands

In an article shared on X (formerly Twitter) on 12 August Mr Campbell said: “Impressive how neither @KemiBadenoch or @RobertJenrick objected when component of the government opening up 400 asylum hotels yet somehow locate time to get on the Farage bandwagon when Labour has actually managed to cut the number in fifty percent.”.

At Prime Minister’s Concerns, Mr Starmer stated: “The then-foreign assistant […] gave a speech at Mansion House. It was called ‘Our Setting on China’, setting out the government’s plan. He claimed because speech, summing up China as a threat in one word would certainly be– his words– difficult, unwise and most notably reckless.”

The Withdrawn £234 Billion Figure

In it, he said: “I’m typically asked to express that policy in a solitary expression, or summarize China itself in one word, whether ‘danger’, or ‘partner’, or ‘enemy’. And I want to start by describing why that is impossible, impractical and– most importantly– risky.”.

He also took place to say, as he repeated throughout today’s Point of Order: “We will enhance our nationwide protection defenses any place Beijing’s activities pose a danger to our individuals or success”, and “when there are stress with various other purposes, we will always put our nationwide protection initially”.

It’s feasible that today’s Reform UK claims may have been based upon a study released by the Pew Proving ground think tank in 2019, which estimated there were between 800,000 and 1.2 million unauthorised migrants in the UK in 2017, 48% of whom it estimated were male. This would produce a top quote of around 576,000 guys in the UK without the right to be here. Mr Yusuf has actually formerly described a figure of 1.2 million when speaking about the number of people who are “here in this nation illegally”.

Importance of Correcting Political Statements

A Skies News post on X (formerly Twitter) declared: “Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp claims the number of asylum hotels has actually increased since the basic political election in 2024, after claiming 200 were folded in the 9 months before.” According to the video clip in the message– and Hansard’s transcript of it– Mr Philp really said that “the numbers in asylum hotels have in fact gone up”.

While no deal was struck between the two leaders, it’s been reported that Mr Trump might push Mr Zelenskyy to accept territorial needs made by Mr Putin involving the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

Lammy’s Correction and Government Data

The Institute for the Research of Battle has kept in mind that the current cutting edge in Donetsk is heavily strengthened, which delivering the entire area would possibly leave adjoining components of Ukraine more vulnerable to future Russian strikes.

The ₤ 234 billion number comes from a report released previously this year by the Centre for Policy Research Studies (CPS), which the brain trust has actually consequently taken out. In a news release the CPS stated: “After the CPS’ record was released, the Workplace for Budget plan Responsibility revised their interpretations of several of the monetary data consisted of within our report, suggesting that the overall expense price quotes should no more be made use of.”.

When asked by Nick Ferrari in this morning’s LBC meeting how many of the 35,000 returns were people that had gone across the Network by little boat, Mr Tapp claimed it was “difficult to put a precise number on that”, and when asked once more, stated it was “actually difficult to consider that exact figure”.

This might appear a unintended or minor mistake, it is important that politicians are held to account for the declarations they make, and incorrect information is eliminated from the document or flagged whenever feasible. Ministers needs to deal with deceptive or false insurance claims made in Parliament immediately in maintaining with the Ministerial Code, which specifies that they ought to remedy “any type of unintended mistake at the earliest opportunity”.

A write-up published by the Daily Mail last week claimed that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage MP stated finishing Indefinite Entrust to Remain (ILR) for travelers would certainly “save ₤ 234 billion that would certainly be paid in benefits for them and their dependants in the coming years”.

We delight in to report that deputy head of state David Lammy MP has published a pastoral improvement after being called by Complete Fact concerning a mistake he made throughout Prime Minister’s Concerns on 5 November 2025.

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Web lifetime monetary cost quotes take into consideration the payment a person may be anticipated to make to public financial resources over their life time (through paying tax obligations), in addition to the amount they may be anticipated to set you back the government (with accessing civil services, consisting of the well-being system however also various other things like health care and education).

The government does not routinely publish data on the quantity invested in well-being settlements for travelers (and it deserves noting that different individuals may have different meanings of who this group includes). Data acquired previously this year by Conservative MP Neil O’Brien supposedly showed that a total of ₤ 941 million in Universal Credit history settlements was made to households with at least one international nationwide in March 2025.

As our truth examine described, numbers show that in its very first year in workplace Work decreased the variety of hotels used to house asylum candidates by a web of three– from 213 to 210. Federal government data shows that the variety of asylum applicants being housed in resorts increased between June 2024 and June 2025 (the period extensively covering Labour’s very first year in government).

He said: “It has actually been stated that I, in a speech at Estate Residence, stated that describing China as a hazard was impossible, impractical and most importantly unwise. Complete Reality recognizes the reference in the Daily Mail’s tale was based on a viewpoint column created by Mr Farage for the Mail last month, in which he stated: “Under Reform, welfare will just be for UK people. The CPS said it prepares to release updated numbers based on the changed data “in due program”.

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Our reality checks are cost-free to review however not to produce, so you will likewise obtain periodic e-mails concerning fundraising.
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Full Fact comprehends the referral in the Daily Mail’s story was based on a point of view column composed by Mr Farage for the Mail last month, in which he claimed: “Under Reform, welfare will just be for UK citizens. No foreign nationals will certainly be entitled to any type of advantages. Our adjustments will certainly conserve British taxpayers at the very least ₤ 234 billion over the life time of these travelers.”.

He stated: “It has actually been stated that I, in a speech at Manor Home, said that describing China as a hazard was difficult, unwise and most notably reckless. The quote was that explaining China as one word, or our plan in one word, is difficult, unwise and most notably foolish.

The full transcript of the Mansion Residence speech, consequently, does suggest the particular remarks from Mr Smartly described by Mr Starmer were extra normally regarding the trouble of summing up China in one word– Mr Skillfully suggested the word concerned can be “risk” or “companion”, not simply “hazard”, as Mr Starmer indicated.

He was the first SNP MP in the current parliament that we asked to correct something. We formerly asked 12 MPs from various other parties to deal with similar waiting listing mistakes. Much, 5 of these have done so, however 7 have not.

It was reported recently that United States officials thought Russia might take out from 2 various other areas of Ukraine– Zaporizhzhia and Kherson– which it currently partly inhabits. It’s given that been reported that an offer would only ice up the current front lines, rather than see Russian forces take out from these regions completely.

A comparable case was also made by housing secretary Steve Reed MP on BBC Radio 4’s Today program the other day. He said: “35,000 people who have no right to be in the nation have actually been deported, that’s a record.”

Most of the 35,052 returns were volunteer returns. Applied returns– the classification which includes deportations– accounted for a minority (9,115 or 26%) of the overall returns that occurred in between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025, according to ad hoc data published by the government in July.

He claimed in that speech, summing up China as a threat in one word would be– his words– impossible, not practical and most importantly ill-advised.”