The prime minister and the chair of the Conservative party have been accused of circulating false information about Labour’s immigration plans, with a charity warning this could mislead voters in the next general election.
Full Fact, which monitors the factual accuracy of statements made in public debate, has repeatedly raised concerns about comments made by Rishi Sunak and the Conservative party chair, Greg Hands, claiming that Labour has pledged to open UK borders to 100,000 people a year.
The claim was made by Sunak in his keynote speech at the Conservative party conference this month and repeated by Hands in a column in the Express newspaper soon afterwards. The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, announced in September that his party would seek a deal with the EU to return some new arrivals to mainland Europe while allowing others to enter Britain if it were in government.
In a letter sent to the two politicians and shared with the Guardian, Andrew Dudfield, the interim chief executive of Full Fact, described the claims as “unacceptable” and “deeply disappointing”.
He wrote: “Spreading misinformation about political opponents is damaging to our democracy and it is important that you stop repeating this claim. We are publicly calling on you to show leadership and not initiate or contribute to the spread of misleading claims, including about other political parties.”
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