This headline gives the Daily Mail a chance to pursue two of its favourite delusions, the idea that Britain is being taken over by Islam, and the idea that Britain is being taken over by the EU. This is interesting because a) The headline refers only to a draft proposal, b) The EU has shelved the plans and c) Britain has opted out anyway. In other words, this will never happen.
4. “EUROPE SPIES ON YOUR PAY AND SAVINGS” - Daily Express, September 2009
The article declares that “EU snoopers” (whoever they might be) are “pressing for sinister new powers to spy on every taxpayer”. In reality Eurofisc, the plan in question, is a proposal for increased co-operation on tackling tax evasion, and would have to be agreed to by all 27 member states in order to become a reality. So not only is the headline not currently true, it may never be true.
3. “EURO MEDDLERS RULE WE CAN'T HAVE MILK JUGS” - Daily Express, February 2010
What happened in real life was rather different. A study by a team of researchers at the University of Valencia found that one-third of the milk served in Spanish restaurants did not meet EU Health regulations due to contamination. Yet someone on planet Express has managed to interpret this as “Euro meddlers” introducing a ban on the British milk jug.
2. “EU TO BAN SELLING EGGS BY THE DOZEN” - Daily Mail, June 2010
Not to be outdone by the Express' riveting milk jug story, the Mail reports the latest British staple under threat from those meddling Brussels bureaucrats. Tory blogger Iain Dale was outraged, declaring, “you couldn't make it up”, but actually you can. In fact that's exactly what the Daily Mail did. A European Parliament statement on the proposed changes in regulation clearly stated that “selling eggs by the dozen will not be banned”. The Mail eventually published a corrective article but instead of admitting error claims that the plans had been changed due to “a backlash by Britain”. Very noble.
1. “EU PLAN TO LIQUIFY CORPSES AND POUR THEM DOWN THE DRAIN” Daily Express, July 2010
The following day, the newspaper printed a letter from reader who “felt sick to my stomach when reading the article” and asserted that “of course, this is all about reducing the amount of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere. It really does beggar belief”. Indeed it does. Because when the Express said “EU plan” what they actually meant was “Belgium's Flemish Undertakers Association plan”. It's easy to confuse the two. The article has since been removed from the Express website...
Reports courtesy of Tabloid Watch.
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