This round-up 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.
Conservative MP defection video isn’t real
A video that appears to show Conservative MP George Freeman announcing his defection to Reform UK has been shared widely online.
But the video isn’t real and was very likely made using artificial intelligence (AI).
The clip appears to show Mr Freeman speaking in Westminster, and supposedly saying: “After 14 years as a Conservative MP I’m making the biggest decision of my political career […] today I’m crossing the floor to join Reform UK. The Conservative Party has lost its way.”
Mr Freeman has denied the clip is real, posting on Facebook: “A video has been circulating on social media, using AI-generated imagery of me announcing that I have abandoned the Conservative Party to join the Reform Party. This video is entirely fake and false and I want to make it absolutely clear that I have not left the Conservative Party to join Reform, and have no intention of doing so.”
He added: “I have reported this matter to the relevant authorities, and I urge anyone who sees the video to report it immediately rather than share it further.” Norfolk Police told us: “We have been made aware of the video and remain in contact with Mr Freeman’s office”.
We matched the outfit he is wearing and background in Westminster to a video Mr Freeman posted on YouTube in April 2020 providing an update on the coronavirus pandemic. The original video was therefore posted before the Brexit Party changed its name to Reform UK in January 2021.
The cadence of the audio in the recent video is extremely even and the intonation sounds stiff and unnatural, which suggests it is AI-generated. Although less likely, we can’t rule out that it has been faked in another way, for example by using an impersonator.
AI also appears to have been used to make it look as though Mr Freeman is saying the words falsely attributed to him, an example of a lip-sync deepfake.
In September Conservative MP Danny Kruger became the first sitting Conservative MP to defect to Reform UK, after several former Conservative MPs defected to the party. Mr Freeman, however, remains a Conservative MP.
People won’t need to ‘re-verify’ their bus passes this month
False claims that everyone who uses a bus pass will have to “re-verify” it in October and provide updated proof of age, residency or disability have been spreading online.
The videos appear to be part of a spate of false and misleading content about incoming changes to personal freedoms being shared online, which we found often originates from TikTok.
We’ve also seen similar misleading claims about changes to bus passes appearing at the top of Google searches in the AI overview.
An audio track over the footage says the changes will also see “rush hour limits” imposed by some councils, with certain areas restricting travel at peak times.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport told us: “The information regarding an announcement in this video is not correct.”
And a spokesperson for the Local Government Association said: “The LGA is not aware of any incoming updates nationally to bus pass restrictions. Councils will always communicate across a variety of channels for any changes to transport and the best place to check for any such changes is the council’s own website.”
Free bus passes are provided across England and Wales to older residents. In England it can be applied for after a person reaches state pension age (which is currently 66), and at 60 in Wales. In England, the age you can get an older person’s bus pass is set to increase to 67 from April, in line with the increase to the state pension age which begins next year.
London residents can travel for free on buses, the tube and other transport in the capital when they turn 60 — some other cities like Liverpool also offer free local bus travel from 60 years of age. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, residents can get an older person’s bus pass when they turn 60.
Other UK bus passes include a disabled person’s bus pass, which can also include a companion bus pass.
While many councils already restrict bus pass use to after 9am on weekdays (in some areas this is 9.30am, and there are slightly differing end times from 11pm to late), there is no evidence that further “rush hour” restrictions are being introduced.
Similar misleading claims have also been promoted by Google’s AI Overview tool (which appears at the top of Google searches).
Under a search for “bus pass restrictions”, Full Fact found that on one occasion the AI Overview stated: “New rules effective October 2025 will require stricter proof of age and residency, digital applications will be encouraged, and automatic renewals will be discontinued in some areas.”
But there’s also no evidence that this is happening. A Google spokesperson told us: “When issues arise — like if our features misinterpret web content or miss some context — we use those examples to improve and take appropriate action under our policies.”
Have 35,000 people been ‘detained and removed’ from the UK under Labour?
In a recent post on X, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood MP claimed that the government “has detained and removed over 35,000 people with no right to be here”.
The post included footage showing several people being escorted onto buses or aircraft by what appear to be immigration enforcement officers.
However, the Government’s own data shows the majority of those included in this figure were not both “detained and removed”, but instead left the UK voluntarily—in some cases without the Government’s involvement or knowledge.
According to Home Office statistics, just over 35,000 immigration returns took place during Labour’s first year in government (July 5 2024 to July 4 2025). But only 9,115 of these were “enforced returns” —the category of return which includes people who were removed from detention.
The remaining 25,937 were “voluntary returns”, meaning people who were liable for removal or under immigration control but left the UK of their own accord, sometimes with Home Office support. This category also includes “other verified returns”—people who left the UK without informing the Home Office.
Some people who have been detained can subsequently apply to voluntarily leave the UK, in which case they may be granted immigration bail ahead of their departure. People who agree to leave voluntarily from detention are included under “enforced returns”, according to the Home Office.
We don’t know exactly how many of the returns carried out between July 5 2024 and July 4 2025 were from detention, but Home Office data shows that in the year ending June 2025 (broadly though not entirely overlapping Labour’s first year in office) there were a total of 5,782 enforced removals from detention and 2,833 other returns from detention.
When we spoke to the Home Office, they denied the claim was misleading. We have written to the department to ask for further clarification.
