Fact checkPoliticsPublished October 24, 2026

“The government did not brief the media on the Jackdaw announcement before informing Parliament.” — A Downing Street spokesman. Our verdict: Unverified.

“The government did not brief the media on the Jackdaw announcement before informing Parliament.” — A Downing Street spokesman. Our verdict: Unverified.
A Downing Street spokesmanNews reportOctober 23, 2026

A Downing Street spokesman made the claim on 23 October 2026, as reported by GB News.

Our verdict

Unverified

We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute the claim that the government did not brief the media on the Jackdaw announcement before informing Parliament. The only direct statement we found comes from the government itself, and the one account suggesting the opposite sequence is a social media post, not independent verification.

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What we found

The claim was made by a Downing Street spokesman, reported by GB News. That report tells us what the spokesman said, but it does not independently show what actually happened. A social media post about the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, criticising ministers for announcing the Jackdaw approval through the press before telling MPs points the other way, but it is a low-reliability account rather than a verified record. Because no source we found sets out the exact timing of any media briefing against the timing of the parliamentary statement, we cannot establish the claim as true or false.

The evidence

2 sources, all background: none settles the claim either way.

Contradict 0Support 0Background 2
  • Background

    GB News reported that a Downing Street spokesman said nothing about the Jackdaw announcement was briefed to the media in advance of the parliamentary written statement. This shows what the government said, not whether it was accurate. [1]

  • Background

    A social media post says the Speaker of the House, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, criticised ministers for announcing the Jackdaw gas field approval through the press before informing MPs in Parliament. This suggests the opposite sequence, but it is not independent verification. [2]

What we could not confirm

  • The exact time of the parliamentary written statement on Jackdaw.
  • Whether any oral statement was made, and when.
  • Whether any media briefing took place, and when, relative to Parliament being informed.
  • Independent confirmation of the sequence of events, beyond the government's own statement and the social media post about the Speaker.

How we checked

We looked at the GB News report carrying the spokesman's statement and at a social media post about the Speaker's criticism. We could not find any public record setting out the exact timings of the parliamentary statement and any media briefing, so we could not confirm or refute the claim. If you have evidence about the timing, please send it to us. We reviewed 2 relevant sources.

Sources

  1. [1]www.gbnews.com · Andy Burnham: Indefinite leave to remain is a right to be earned
  2. [2]facebook.com · Sir Lindsay Hoyle criticised ministers for announcing Jackdaw gas field approval through the press before informing MPs in Parliament.

Help us check this claim

We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute this claim. If you know of an official record, dataset, transcript or report that settles it, send us the link. We review every submission and update this fact check when the evidence changes the picture.

Measured Take updates fact checks when new evidence emerges. Corrections are noted on the page.

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