lies, damn lies and statistics: Brexit debate

A further intervention from the UK Statistics Authority today signals it has lost patience with Leave’s tactics and though it has no legal power to prevent the campaign from making the claim it wishes to make clear to the voting public that the Leave figure is not to be trusted.

“The UK Statistics Authority is disappointed to note that there continue to be suggestions that the UK contributes £350 million to the EU each week, and that this full amount could be spent elsewhere,” it said in a statement.

“Given the high level of public interest in the European Union referendum debate, it is vital that official statistics are used accurately, with important caveats and limitations explained.”