Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps with the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that people responsible for the production or distribution of misleading material about the covid-19 vaccine are prosecuted.

The Government has made it very clear that false information, disinformation and manipulated information deceives and misleads people. When misleading material is distributed in respect of Covid-19 vaccines lives are put at risk.

There are general provisions in s.44 and s.45 Serious Crime Act 2007 which make it a criminal offence to encourage someone to commit a criminal offence. So where disinformation is created and shared with intent to encourage others to participate in criminal acts, we believe there are powers to pursue a prosecution under existing law. However, the Government is also developing a comprehensive policy response to tackle the distribution of misleading material, working closely with civil society, academia and tech platforms.