Fact check: Riot rumours and GP industrial action

This roundup of claims has been compiled by Full Fact, the UK’s largest fact checking charity working to find, expose and counter the harms of bad information.

Riot rumours

The disorder we’ve seen across the country in recent days appears to have been fuelled at least in part by online misinformation, after an incorrect name for the Southport stabbings suspect was shared on social media. But misleading claims and unsubstantiated rumours about the disorder itself have also circulated.

A video was shared last weekend with false claims that two protestors had reportedly been “stabbed by Muslims” in Stoke-on-Trent. Staffordshire Police said the video showed a man being treated for a head injury, and that two men involved in the incident were hit with a blunt object that was thrown in the air, but said: “No stabbings have been reported to police.”

There were also rumours on social media that a Muslim woman had been attacked with acid in Middlesbrough. In a statement on Saturday August 3, Cleveland Police said while it had received “limited information from a third party” regarding a possible incident, it had not received any formal complaint from “any victim or anyone on their behalf”, or notification of any such incident from medical colleagues.

Some claims gaining traction online do appear to have been substantiated. A post warning that a sticker saying “rights for whites” had been discovered at a train station with a razor blade concealed underneath came after a report to police from a member of the public in Dunton Green in Kent.

Kent Police said: “If you come across any ‘hate-inspired stickers’ in public places, please do not attempt to remove them yourself. Instead, immediately notify the police.”

GP industrial action

With GPs in England voting to take collective action over changes to their contract, it’s been claimed by a number of media outlets and on social media that this means GPs are taking industrial action for the first time in 60 years.

That isn’t quite right, however. Some GPs took part in industrial action in June 2012, alongside other doctors, as part of a dispute over government pension reforms. At the time it was estimated between a fifth and a third of GP practices took part.

GPs as a group last took collective action in 1964 when they collectively handed in undated resignations. It led to reforms including the Family Doctor Charter.

Former PMs’ pensions

Full Fact has seen a number of claims on social media about what pensions and financial support former prime ministers are entitled to, following the recent election.

One post claimed every living former PM, including Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, is entitled to a £115,000 “pension for life”. Others suggested Ms Truss will get a pension of £125,000 or £100,000 a year, or claimed Mr Sunak and Ms Truss are “both walking away with an £80k pension per year for life”.

It’s not true that all former prime ministers automatically get a £115,000 per year pension, and while we don’t know what the value of Mr Sunak or Ms Truss’ pension will be, there’s no evidence that the figures cited are correct.

There is no longer a specific pension for former prime ministers. Since 2015 they, like other ministers, have been part of the Ministerial Pension Scheme, and the value of their pension will depend on contributions made to the scheme.

Many of the figures quoted in the social media posts appear to refer instead to the Public Duty Costs Allowance. This is not a pension, but an allowance that former prime ministers can access in order to cover expenses incurred through their duties. It was capped at £115,000 per year in 2023/24.