The UK Statistics Authority wrote to Richard Holden MP about a comparison made on Newsnight between UK daily death figures and the total for the EU

17 June 2020 · Sir David Norgrove, UK Statistics Authority

The letter is dated 17 June 2020. The UK Statistics Authority published it as Letter from Sir David Norgrove to Richard Holden MP; it links to 1 official record. Below are 3 passages from the letter in the regulator's own words.

What the UK Statistics Authority wrote

“The media every day generate and use immense quantities of statistics, and we cannot take on the task of directly regulating their quality.”

“We do not however consider it is appropriate to comment further on this use of statistics in the media.”

“More fundamentally, as a public body it is questionable whether we should intervene directly in the media’s use of statistics, save perhaps when the media’s use itself causes a significant risk to public understanding.”

From Sir David Norgrove, UK Statistics Authority, letter of 17 June 2020. Read the full letter.

Records the letter links to

• questions 36 to 40 of the oral evidence

More on Richard Holden.

Receipt