Fact check: Doctored audio added to clip of Wes Streeting

Mr Streeting did not insult fellow Labour parliamentary candidate Diane Abbott during an appearance on the BBC.

Mr Streeting is Labour’s shadow health secretary (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

A video was shared on social media claiming to show Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting call Labour parliamentary candidate Diane Abbott a “silly woman” on a BBC TV show.

A user who posted it said: “Wes Streeting calls Diane Abbott a ‘silly woman’ on Politics Live.”

Evaluation

This is a doctored video. In the original, which is on BBC iPlayer, there is no one saying “silly woman” – that audio has been added to the video.

The facts

Mr Streeting appeared on the BBC show Politics Live on June 3 2024.

At around 26 minutes and 30 seconds in the recording of that show the host asks Mr Streeting about something apparently posted to social media by Ms Abbott, who is the Labour candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.

In the fake clip, while the screen is not showing Mr Streeting’s face and as the presenter asks a question, what appears to be a man’s voice says “silly woman”.

However, it is clear from the recording on iPlayer that this was never said.

In response Mr Streeting said: “A fake video is circulating from Politics Live today. It contains words I did not use.

“People can check the original footage on iPlayer, but so far it has only fooled the gullible.”

Links

Post on X (archived post and video)

Politics Live

Mr Streeting on X (archived)