The Welsh parliament could make wilfully misleading the public a criminal offence. The rest of the UK deserves the same protection
In 2019, I helped prove in court that the then prime minister misled the Queen. Boris Johnson claimed he prorogued parliament for purely administrative reasons. The circumstances, the court concluded, demonstrated that “the true reason for the prorogation is to reduce the time available for parliamentary scrutiny of Brexit at a time when such scrutiny would appear to be a matter of considerable importance”.
Johnson ultimately faced the supreme court over his decision – but many other politicians mislead the public, and parliament, with impunity. According to the factchecking campaign Full Fact, Rishi Sunak has, by my understanding, made 41 false or misleading public statements since becoming prime minister. Keir Starmer made seven in the same period. Jeremy Hunt and Suella Braverman made five each.
Sam Fowles is a barrister, author and broadcaster
