UK Fact Check Politics

Independent UK news outlet delivering fresh reporting on politics, NHS, migration, budgets & more – all transparently verified by revolutionary AI fact-checking

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

NHS England has issued an urgent cyber alert warning that hackers are actively exploiting a critical flaw to break into organisational systems and take control without needing login details.

Organisations are being told to act immediately.

Read the full story and what it means on our website.

https://t.co/ZGgJEMmFOH

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

Fact Checked:

We believe the account is based in Israel and is using a VPN to change it to the UK as per the screenshots below.

[Stop The Hate UK @StopTheHate_UK]

They all want to jump on the bandwagon.
But we're British Jews.
In Britain.
Jews (and some lovely British and Iranian allies).
They wish it weren't so. But it is.

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

The Jerusalem post just casually calling for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza…

[The Jerusalem Post @Jerusalem_Post]

Opinion: The only way Israel can govern the Gaza Strip without becoming an external oppressor of “another people” is to remove “the other people” from the confines of the Gaza Strip itself.
https://t.co/akqvURrJfm

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

NHS hospitals are being urged by doctors, human rights groups and campaigners to reconsider using a major data platform supplied by US technology company Palantir

https://t.co/l2GPD4pk8u

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

Sons were suspects in almost one in five killings of women recorded in the UK over the past year

https://t.co/GJ7nfLjfJa

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

Documents reveal PM Starmer knew that Peter Mandelson remained in contact with Epstein AFTER sex offender’s conviction

https://t.co/pPJrmvPMoy

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

Labour has been warned it could suffer an extraordinary reversal in the capital at the 7 May London borough elections, with new campaigning data and modelling suggesting the party could be left in control of as few as two councils.

https://t.co/JwjRQU3OBc

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

🚨BREAKING | Iranian state media say Mojtaba Khamenei has been selected as Iran’s new supreme leader.

No detailed public documentation of the Assembly of Experts’ deliberations has been released.

Reports say the decision comes after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the ongoing conflict.

https://t.co/mkoASw8oRk

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

🚨BREAKING | Iranian state media say Mojtaba Khamenei has been selected as Iran’s new supreme leader.

No detailed public documentation of the Assembly of Experts’ deliberations has been released.

Reports say the decision comes after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the ongoing conflict.

https://t.co/mkoASw8oRk

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

Labour has been warned it could suffer an extraordinary reversal in the capital at the 7 May London borough elections, with new campaigning data and modelling suggesting the party could be left in control of as few as two councils.

https://t.co/JwjRQU3OBc

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

Iran claims US–Israel strike hit elementary school in central Tehran
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, has accused the United States and Israel of striking an elementary school near Niloufar Square in Tehran.

In a post on X, Baghaei shared video footage showing what appear to be damaged classrooms, with blown-out windows and debris inside the building. He did not provide any information on casualties.

https://t.co/fjclOJZW2o

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

Tehran residents describe “worst night” so far as conflict enters seventh day

The Middle East conflict has entered its seventh day, with residents in Tehran telling the BBC that overnight was “the worst night” of the fighting so far. Fresh smoke was seen rising over parts of the Iranian capital after renewed strikes.

Israel’s military also says it launched another wave of attacks on Beirut overnight. Earlier, Israel issued an alert warning of incoming Iranian fire but later said the immediate threat had passed. Israel’s emergency services reported no casualties at the time of the update.

Across the Gulf, countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain reported intercepting Iranian missiles and drones during the night.

Evacuation efforts are continuing as thousands remain stranded by airspace disruption. The first UK government-chartered flight from Muscat, Oman, arrived at London Stansted overnight — one passenger described boarding as “surreal”.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told the BBC the government hopes to organise more charter flights out of Oman and resume commercial routes where possible. He said the UK had been “very clear” it did not want to be part of the US and Israel’s “original offensive action”, but would support defensive measures.

Domestic criticism is also growing. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has criticised the pace of the UK response after attacks on the British base in Cyprus, saying: “Our bases are being fired upon and even now HMS Dragon is still in Portsmouth… we should’ve been there by now,” referring to the air-defence destroyer the government has promised to send.

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

Analyst: Iran wants to make war ‘painful for everyone’ as US endgame remains unclear

Sky News military analyst Michael Clarke says the US and Iran appear to be pursuing very different outcomes in the conflict — and that Washington’s political endgame is still hard to pin down.

Clarke said it could take the US two to three weeks to dismantle Iran’s ability to project military power beyond its borders, but argued that Donald Trump’s wider objectives remain uncertain.

He suggested several possible aims are being discussed: punishing Iran, pushing for regime change, eliminating ballistic missile capabilities, or dismantling Iran’s military and nuclear capacity. The problem, Clarke said, is that some of those goals do not come with a clear political endpoint.

Clarke argued Iran’s strategy is different: to make the conflict costly and disruptive for as many actors as possible — putting pressure on Trump through public opinion, economic shock, East Asian energy markets, and nervous Gulf allies — until the US declares victory and steps back.

He added that Iranian leaders may frame the fight in existential and religious terms, portraying it as a struggle for survival and a moral battle against the United States.

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

Is the CIA planning to arm Kurdish forces to spark an uprising in Iran?

https://t.co/yCJMY2oNoQ

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

🚨LATEST | Iran’s IRGC said it launched 230 drones toward sites hosting US troops across the Gulf.

Kuwait’s Health Ministry said an 11-year-old girl died after shrapnel from falling debris struck her. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar reported intercepting drones and missiles, and Qatar said flights were temporarily suspended.

https://t.co/UfsHfB6EFn

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

Adults and accompanied children granted asylum in the UK will receive 30 months’ permission to stay, with protection reviewed and renewed if their home country remains unsafe.

The Home Office said it will amend Immigration Rules later this week and the new regime will apply only to new claims, while existing cases remain under previous rules.

Family reunion remains paused while new criteria are developed.

https://t.co/eYVyP5lsbs

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

🚨 BREAKING | UKMTO reports vessel struck by ‘unknown projectile’ off UAE coast

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency says it has received a report of a vessel being hit by an “unknown projectile” off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

In an advisory, UKMTO said the ship’s master reported the vessel was struck 7 nautical miles east of Fujairah, causing damage to the steel plating.

UKMTO added there was no fire and no water ingress, and that all crew were safe. “Authorities are investigating,” it said.

The report follows a separate UKMTO incident alert issued earlier near the coast of Oman.

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

Iran state TV airs funerals after reported strike on girls’ school

Iranian state television has broadcast funerals for students killed in what Iranian authorities say was a US–Israeli strike on a school in southern Iran on Saturday, according to BBC Monitoring.

The footage showed coffins draped in the Islamic Republic flag being carried through a large crowd, alongside a voiceover describing the grief of parents who had lost their daughters.

The broadcast also claimed that more than 160 graves had been prepared for those killed in the attack.

The school is reported to be near an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base that has previously been targeted. The US Central Command said it was looking into the reports, while the Israeli military said it was “not aware” of any operations in the area.

[UK Fact Check Politics @UKFCP_]

Some Tehran residents describe shifting mood as strikes continue

As strikes continue on Iran’s capital, some Tehran residents say their outlook is changing, according to BBC Persian senior reporter Ghoncheh Habibiazad.

One resident, Milad, told the BBC he feels “tired and confused” about what may happen next.

Another, Shahram, said he counted around 30 explosions on Tuesday and that smoke “filled the air inside” his home. “What do you think will be the end of this? When will it end? I just want prosperity — and peace, for all of us,” he said, adding: “It’s scary. Really scary.”

Most people in Iran are still without internet access, though some have been able to connect briefly. NetBlocks, which monitors online connectivity, says the current blackout has lasted for more than 84 hours.