Boris Johnson: Fact-checking the claims of the former prime minister for three years

Boris Johnson, Conservative leader, has resigned and will be replaced by a new leader.

Boris Johnson: Fact-checking the claims of the former prime minister for three years

Boris Johnson, Conservative leader, has resigned and will be replaced by a new leader.

This follows a wave if resignations from Tory ministers and MPs, some of which implicitly question Mr Johnson's honesty.

He has been fact-checked on a regular basis over the past three years. These are some of his claims (alongside the articles) that we reviewed during those three years.

Boris Johnson revealed the Conservatives' plan for raising the threshold at which people begin paying National Insurance Contributions while campaigning in November 2019.

He stated that if we are elected, then the first Budget will be raised to the PS9500 threshold. That will, as I said, put PS500 in the pockets of everyone.

This was wrong. According to the Conservatives, the benefit of raising the threshold to PS9500 in 2020-21 would have a PS100 annual cost. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), it will be PS85 per annum.

This promise was made by Johnson about the Brexit deal for Northern Ireland, also known as the Protocol. He negotiated and signed it.

This assertion, made in a Sky News interview December 2019, was clearly false. As we pointed out, it was contrary to his own contract.

Since 31 December 2020, there have been checks on goods going from Great Britain (GB), to Northern Ireland (NI). These checks have caused political problems in Northern Ireland, and the government wants to amend the deal.

We could not find any official poverty statistics that would support Mr Johnson's June 2020 claim. Downing Street couldn't provide any source.

The claim was also reviewed by the Office of the Children's Commissioner for England. The analysis showed that the claim was valid between 2010-11 and 2018-19

Johnson claimed that neither of them supported it, which appears to be incorrect.

This comment was made by Mr Johnson when he was asked at a press conference on 15th November 2021 if he had worn masks during his visit to Hexham Hospital the week before.

However, photographs showed that he was not wearing one during his visit.

Later, he apologized and said that he briefly had not worn one and "put it on as soon I realized I had made that error".

In Parliament, the prime minister was asked by Parliament in December 2021 if there had been any lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street on the 13th of November 2020. He replied, "No, but I'm sure that whatever happened the rules were observed and the guidance was followed."

Sue Gray, a civil servant, reported that there were at least two Downing Street gatherings on the day. Boris Johnson was photographed with six others and at least six bottles of wine at one of the gatherings.

One person was fined at least once for this event. It is therefore not true that all Covid rules and guidelines were observed.

A committee of parliament is investigating whether Johnson intentionally misled MPs.

Boris Johnson's January 2022 quote was found in a government press release highlighting the "opportunities for Brexit".

On British pint glasses, the crown stamp was required to show that a product met regulations. It was replaced in 2006 by the EU conformity marking CE.

However, the quote was misleading. The UK could still use a crown stamp on pints prior to Brexit as a decorative element, provided it did not overlap with or be confused with the CE marking. In 2007, a Conservative MEP sought guidance in this area and was granted it.

According to government guidance, crown stamps will not be returned as a conformity marking on pint glasses in June 2022 - that would have been the UKCA mark with an M – but could be used only as a decorative mark.

Boris Johnson also stated in Parliament in January 2022 that the government's warm home discount was "worth PS140 per Week".

It wasn't true.

It was worth PS140 all winter and not PS140 per week.

At Prime Minister's Questions in February 2022 Mr Johnson stated that "more people are working now than before the pandemic started".

However, this was not correct - the statistics regulator had previously criticised him for making the claim on multiple occasions.

Johnson had mixed up the number people on payrolls which had increased with the number people working, which had decreased. They are not the exact same thing. For example, the payroll number does not include self-employed persons.

This was also stated by Johnson in Parliament on February 20, 2022. This figure is incorrect as it excludes fraud and computer misuse.

These were added and crime rose by 14%

The statistics regulator once again criticised the prime minister.

Discussing sanctions against Russians in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Johnson stated to Parliament that the UK had sanctioned "275 people already" and another 100 in the last week.

The 100 number was used several times by him that week, but the government could not provide a list.

They did not send the lists, but they showed that only 15 people had been sanctioned within the week before. This was something we pointed out at the time.

This comment was made by Mr Johnson in Parliament, March 2022, when he was asked about the UK's record regarding refugees.

He was correct about a small number of refugees who were admitted to the UK after fleeing a country they had fled.

For example, someone who fled war in Syria would be eligible for this.

However, the claims are misleading when you consider the entire asylum system. The UK took in more refugees than Germany, 1,060,000 versus the UK's 92,000 figure. This was between 2015-20.

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