27 May 2023 , 16:03
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Rishi Sunak has been accused of an “increasing habit” of making false claims in Parliament.
Labour say they’ve identified six occasions where the Prime Minister has made “misleading” remarks to MPs in the Commons - some of which he’s later walked back.
At Prime Minister’s Questions on 26 April, Mr Sunak claimed there were “record numbers of people in work” - only to admit the next week, this was not the case.
And he was rapped by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) for claiming the asylum backlog was “half” the level Labour left it at in 2010.
Robert Chote, UKSA said this was incorrect and “do not reflect the position shown by the Home Office’s statistics”.
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And most recently Mr Sunak claimed an investigation had been launched into claims of “corruption” surrounding the Teesworks development project in Redcar. No such probe had been ordered at the time, though an “independent panel” investigation has since been set up.
Anneliese Dodds warned the PM "dishonesty in politics is corrosive" (PA)In a letter to the Prime Minister, Labour chair Anneliese Dodds also accused Mr Sunak of having “misrepresented Labour’s policy positions.”
She wrote: “This is an alarming pattern of behaviour. I do not need to remind you of the promise you made on the steps of Downing Street of “professionalism, integrity and accountability at all levels.”
She added: “As we have seen in the last year, dishonesty in politics is corrosive, and damages everything it touches. It is the responsibility of all of us in public life to hold ourselves to the highest levels of honesty and integrity at all times.
“Failing to do so damages not only your own reputation, but public trust in politics altogether.”
A No 10 spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister has been clear that this government will work night and day to deliver on the priorities of the British people, while ensuring that integrity, professionalism and accountability is upheld at every level.”