At EveningLedger.uk, fact-checking is not a final step but an integral part of our editorial process. Before any story is published, our team verifies the claims it contains against primary sources, official records and direct testimony. This policy sets out what we check, how we rank sources, how we handle uncertainty, and how you can help us maintain accuracy.
What We Verify Before Publication
Our fact-checking covers the following categories of claims, among others:
- Government decisions — legislation, ministerial statements, policy announcements, parliamentary votes and public consultations.
- Public spending — figures from budgets, departmental accounts, procurement data and official audits.
- Economic data — inflation, GDP, employment, trade balances, borrowing costs and business confidence indicators, always cross-referenced with the Office for National Statistics, the Bank of England and the Treasury.
- Business closures or openings — company announcements, filings at Companies House, press releases and direct contact with relevant firms.
- Crime and safety — police statements, Crown Prosecution Service records, court outcomes and official crime statistics.
- Health information — claims about treatments, public health guidance, disease prevalence and NHS data, sourced from the NHS, the UK Health Security Agency and peer-reviewed research.
- Education claims — school performance, Ofsted reports, university admissions data and Department for Education statistics.
- Transport disruption — operator statements, Network Rail alerts, Department for Transport data and live service updates.
- Legal disputes — court documents, judgments, tribunal outcomes and statements from parties or their legal representatives.
- Allegations — against individuals or organisations, which are never published without corroboration from at least two independent sources or official documents.
- Public figures — biographical details, past statements and positions, verified through public records, archives and direct communication.
- Stories involving minors — extra care is taken to avoid identifying information, and all such stories are reviewed by our Standards & Fact-Checking Lead for safeguarding and privacy compliance.
- Privacy and safety concerns — we redact or withhold details where publication could cause harm, in line with our Safeguarding Minors Policy.
Source Hierarchy
We rank sources by reliability and proximity to the original fact. Our preferred sources, in descending order of weight, are:
- Official government documents (legislation, white papers, departmental reports, Hansard)
- Public records (court filings, Companies House, the Charity Commission)
- Company statements and regulatory filings (London Stock Exchange, FCA, Ofcom)
- Police statements and official crime reports
- NHS and public health information (NHS Digital, NICE, UKHSA)
- University statements and academic research published in peer-reviewed journals
- Court documents (judgments, orders, sentencing remarks)
- Direct interviews conducted by our reporters
- Public meetings (town halls, council sessions, parliamentary committees) attended or recorded in full
- Event organisers and official event documentation
- Verified public social media posts — from official accounts of recognised institutions, elected representatives or individuals with a verifiable public role
- First-hand reporting from our team on location
A full breakdown of our source standards is available on our Sources & Standards page.
Handling Rumours, Speculation and Anonymous Sources
Rumours and speculation are always labelled as such and are never presented as fact. On occasions where a rumour is newsworthy in itself, we explain why it is being reported and what evidence exists either way. Anonymous sourcing is avoided unless there is a clear editorial reason — such as protecting a whistleblower or a vulnerable individual — and the information has been responsibly verified through other channels. Any story relying on an anonymous source will carry a note explaining the reason for anonymity and the steps taken to confirm the claim.
Our Standards & Fact-Checking Lead
Oliver Trent, our Standards & Fact-Checking Lead, reviews all sensitive articles — those involving allegations, crime, minors, public figures, legal disputes or significant economic claims — before publication. He oversees our fact-checking workflow, source verification, corrections review and image attribution. If you have questions about a specific check, you can reach him at oliver.trent@eveningledger.uk.
How Readers Can Report Concerns
We encourage readers to alert us to potential errors. If you believe a story contains a mistake or an unverified claim, please email our dedicated fact-checking address: factcheck@eveningledger.uk. We aim to acknowledge every report within 24 hours and, where a correction is warranted, to update the story and log it in our corrections register.
Corrections and Related Policies
Our commitment to accuracy does not stop at publication. When we get something wrong, we correct it promptly and transparently. Full details of how we handle corrections can be found on our Corrections Policy page. For more on our broader editorial approach, see our Editorial Policy and Our Team page.