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FactCheck Q&A: Why are the Falklands British?
“Various Argentinian governments have also made the point that the archipelago is much closer geographically, which is certainly true but not usually relevant in law. If it were, the Faroe Islands would be British, the Channel Islands French and Alaska Canadian.”
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Do tanker drivers earn £45k?
Unite insists that the fuel-tanker drivers’ strike not about pay. But that hasn’t stopped rumours that the union’s demands include a 27 per cent pay hike for drivers, and it hasn’t stopped Conservative party officials distributing leaflets claiming that tanker drivers earn up to £47,500 – or pointing out that’s more than a staff sergeant bomb disposal expert in Afghanistan (who earns around £35,000). The implication is that tanker drivers are well-rewarded for the risks involved in lugging explosive cargo across the country. Is that fair? FactCheck investigates.
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Is crime in the UK on the rise?
Ed Miliband claims violence, theft and robbery is on the rise – is he right? FactCheck investigates.
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The truth about the illiterate millions
“The conference is sponsored by Pearson, the publishing giant which happens to sell the kind of textbooks and assessment systems that the World Literacy Foundation are calling for governments to invest in.”
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How ‘sensational’ was George Galloway’s win?
There’s no denying that booting Labour out of Bradford West with a 10,000 swing was a sensational win for gorgeous George. But was it the most sensational ever – or has the excitement gone to Mr Galloway’s head? FactCheck trawls through the history books.
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TfL’s abandoned pledge on Tube access for the disabled
In 2006, Transport for London promised: “One third of Tube stations will have step-free access by 2013 and will, if possible, accelerate accessibility works ahead of the 2012 Olympics”. How did they get on? FactCheck dons its hard hat.
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How many lives will alcohol strategy save?
“Analysts decided that a certain fraction of people who, say, fall over and twist their ankle, do so because they are drunk. Extensive anecdotal evidence collected by FactCheck suggests that may well be true.”
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Factcheck Q&A: The budget 2012
“It’s such a huge shortfall that both sides have only just stopped short of accusing each other of cooking the books.”
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Do 50p taxpayers have it so bad?
“Is a true Briton to have no privacy? Are the fruits of his labour and toil to be picked over, farthing by farthing, by the pimply minions of bureaucracy?”
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Is the government breaking the law on the NHS?
“So two decisions have gone against the government, but they still haven’t come up with the all-important document. Does that mean, as Andy Burnham claimed, that they are technically flouting the law?”
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FactCheck Q and A: Is the US-UK extradition treaty unfair?
“To the best of our knowledge, British courts have refused to extradite seven people since 2004 but the Americans have never turned down a request from Britain.”
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Jailbird juveniles – too much, too soon?
The United Kingdom is locking up her children too young and too often – and it’s not helping to rehabilitate them, says Europe’s human rights watchdog.The Ministry of Justice hasn’t reviewed the minimum age since the 1960s. But does it need to?
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Labour’s record on womens’ unemployment
Nick Clegg claimed today: “The unemployment of women went up by 24 per cent under Labour”. Was he right? FactCheck investigates.
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The truth about women in the boardroom
“Female executive directors are a very select few, and their ranks have only been swollen by an average of one woman a year over the last decade.”
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Are police numbers at emergency levels?
“Our best guess now, as also pointed out by the independent House of Commons library in their recently updated report on police service strength, is that frontline officer numbers will fall by around 2,500 posts from 2010 to 2012.”