Andrew Bridgen MP’s false claims put lives at risk

Andrew Bridgen has put lives at risk for months by being enabled to peddle health misinformation in Parliament and online.

It is right that the Conservative Party took action after Andrew Bridgen’s shameful comments online earlier today. But it is unacceptable that an MP has been allowed to repeatedly make dangerous, false claims about vaccines for months without consequence. 

Since December, Full Fact has repeatedly called on Andrew Bridgen to correct the record after making false claims, including that Covid-19 vaccines aren’t recommended while pregnant or breastfeeding. He failed to do so.

We have also previously fact checked false claims that Andrew Bridgen has been repeating on social media this week, such as the idea that vaccines are ‘gene therapy’.

We have all seen what happens across the world when people in power help conspiracy theorists and amplify dangerous health misinformation. It costs lives. 

Full Fact has written to Conservative MP and Party Chair Nadhim Zahawi today to highlight the full extent of misinformation spread by Mr Bridgen, and to ask whether the Conservative Party intends to endorse an MP who behaves like this at the next election.

Photo: Official portrait, UK Parliament - using Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) licence