Statistics watchdog recommends UK Housing Secretary Steve Reed retracts comments on pollution north of Hadrian’s Wall.
While in the post of Environment Secretary, Reed repeatedly claimed that Scotland suffer worse water pollution than in England, and supply was of a lower quality. However, these statements have now been flagged as rising ‘misleading the public’.
SNP MP Seamus Logan reported Reed to the UK Statistics Authority for comments made during interviews, in the House of Commons and on social media.
He also sent a letter to SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn claiming Scotland experienced 35.8 pollution incidents per 10,000km of sewer, compared with 35.4 events over the same distance in England. According to subsequent analysis, this does not add up.
‘In brief, we consider that these statements lacked enough transparency about their sources to be verified, and that the brand evidence did not support them,’ said Professor Dame Carol Prosper, Chairwoman of the Authority’s regulation committee, in a letter. ‘Without appropriate discussion of the limitations of some of the more specific figures quoted, they run the risk of misleading the public.
‘The authority expects that ministers take care to avoid using data that is overly selective or missing appropriate context,’ the letter continued. ‘As former chairs have said, omitting [to include context, sources and limitations] can damage public trust in the data, so we encourage those speaking on behalf of Government to ensure statistical statements are presented clearly and transparently.’
The SNP have since branded the situation an ‘utter embarrassment’ and demanded Reed apologise.
Image: Murilo Gomes / Unsplash
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