Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

We’ll be closing up this live page shortly, but our fact-checking team are still examining Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s speech at Labour conference. You’ll find more of their analysis over on the BBC’s main live page.

Here’s a look at the team have already done today:

• What is the UK government’s record on immigration removals?
• Has the government lifted 100,000 children out of poverty?
• Small boat crossings at record levels under Labour, but for how long?
• Starmer using private jets less than his predecessors

Away from UK politics, we’ve verified CCTV footage of a large explosion in southwestern Pakistan, a deadly school building collapase in Indonesia and crowds running for cover from gunfire in Gaza City.

Plus, did you see a video seeming to show a British MP getting soaked by a man in union jack shorts? Millions of people have, but it’s really an AI fake. Here’s the tell-tale signs.

Got ideas for what we should investigate next? Tell us the issues you care about here.

BBC Verify Live will be back tomorrow morning. We’ll see you then.

Rob England
BBC Verify senior data journalist

Following Keir Starmer’s speech at the Labour Party conference, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claimed “a further 400” migrants have crossed the Channel today.

However, official figures for today’s small boat crossings have not yet been released. The Home Office is not expected to publish these numbers until tomorrow afternoon.

We have approached the Home Office for comment on Farage’s claim - along with Reform UK.

Verified data from recent days, external shows 895 arrivals recorded on Saturday, 304 on Sunday, and 70 on Monday. There were no arrivals recorded between 23 and 26 September.

On average 123 people have crossed per day so far this year. Crossing patterns tend to be uneven throughout the year - and at certain points there have been periods of no activity followed by days with large numbers.

Frontex, the EU’s border agency, has previously said, external such irregular patterns may be a tactic used by smuggling networks to overwhelm French efforts to prevent boats from launching.

So far this year, 33,556 people have arrived in the UK by small boat, a record total for this point in the year.

Aisha Sembhi
BBC Verify journalist

In a speech to the US military a little earlier, President Donald Trump listed a number of American cities, saying: “We should use some of these of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military.”

He mentioned Portland in Oregon, which he said “looks like a war zone”.

Trump has already announced that the National Guard will be deployed to the city and he has authorised the use of “full force, if necessary” to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities there.

There have been protests at an ICE facility in Portland and several arrests have been made in connection with assaults on federal officers.

But data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, external , external(FBI), external shows that last year there was no increase in violent crime in the city. It also shows that Portland didn’t rank particularly highly in violent crime when compared to other cities with similar-sized populations.

This data shows there were about 720 violent crimes recorded per 100,000 people Portland in 2024 - a rate largely unchanged since 2021.

On this measure, the Democrat-run city ranked 19 out of 37 US cities with populations larger than 500,000.

Earlier this month, BBC Verify used this FBI data to analyse the rate of violent crime in Chicago as well.

Richard Irvine-Brown
BBC Verify journalist

Image source, Instagram

We’re continuing to monitor videos out of Gaza City where the latest footage shows a street filled with a cloud of smoke or gas near al-Shifa Hospital.

The video was posted on Instagram at 10:50 BST (12:50 local time) and people speaking, including the Palestinian journalist who filmed it, claim a quadcopter dropped a noxious canister on homes near the hospital.

We can see a quadcopter with a canister in the opening shot of the video but we can’t tell where it was filmed and we don’t see the canister drop.

The majority of the video shows people covering their faces on clouded streets. One refers to a “smoke bomb,” four talk of “gas”. Some of these shots are impossible to locate as we can’t see past the smoke or gas. However, as it clears, we can see part of the video was filmed on the Ahmed Abd al-Azez road, to the south of the hospital complex.

The area around the hospital has seen intense activity lately, including flares descending over it overnight, and the approach of Israeli forces.

Additional verification by Lamees Altalebi

Tom Edgington
BBC Verify senior journalist

If proof was needed that Labour now see Reform UK and its leader as a serious electoral threat, it came in Keir Starmer’s conference speech with the prime minister mentioning Nigel Farage four times.

In contrast, the “Tories”- who are the official opposition - were mentioned just three times, as well as one reference to “Tory decline”.

For example, Starmer asked: “When was the last time you heard Nigel Farage say anything positive about Britain's future?”

Starmer’s references today come in stark contrast to his address to Labour conference last year, external where there were zero mentions of Farage or the Reform UK party.

In a response to Starmer's speech, Farage said the government had carried out a "constant attack" on him and his party.

Starmer isn’t the only leader to focus on the Reform leader during the conference season. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey referenced Farage significantly more: 33 times in his speech. , external

Farage replied by accusing Davey of being “obsessed with me”, external, adding “I am happy to pay for a psychiatrist”.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad and Shayan Sardarizadeh
BBC Verify

A video showing a man apparently throwing a bucket of water over UK MP Zarah Sultana has racked up millions of views online - but it’s not genuine and appears to have been made using artificial intelligence.

The video purports to show Sultana - a former Labour MP who now sits as an independent - giving a speech at a pro-Palestinian rally before a shirtless man wearing union jack boxer shorts runs into the frame and throws a bucket of water over her.

The 33-second clip was posted on the X social media platform on Monday where it has been viewed more than 3.6 million times.

But the video contains multiple tell-tale glitches and inconsistencies in line with AI-generation:

• The union jacks on the man’s shorts change shape and blend into one another
• The water pouring out of the bucket looks unnatural
• Sultana’s right arm momentarily disappears
• Her facial features change during the video

The video also appears to be a repeated loop probably because AI generators can only produce short continuous clips of 10 seconds or less.

The earliest version of the footage we can find is only six seconds long and was posted in July by a user who regularly shares satirical fake clips. But many users commenting on the resurfaced copy appear to think it’s genuine.

The July video was investigated by Full Fact which concluded it was a, external , external“deepfake”, external.

BBC Verify has found an image that appears to have been used to create the fake video. The photo, posted by Sultana in May 2021, external, shows her speaking at a pro-Palestinian rally wearing the same outfit as seen in the AI video.

Most publicly available generative-AI tools are capable of turning still images into videos. BBC Verify has approached Sultana for comment.

Tom Edgington
BBC Verify live editor

Setting out his plans to secure Britain's borders during his speech to Labour's conference, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “We will remove people with no right to be here.”

The latest figures show, external that between 5 July 2024 (when Labour came to power) and 4 July this year 35,052 people with no legal right to be in the UK were returned. That's 13% higher than for the previous 12-month period.

However, only 9,115 of those returns were “enforced” where an immigration officer might have to escort an individual on to a flight to ensure they leave the UK.

The majority were recorded as “voluntary” - while some of those do involve the government in some way (for example, through financial assistance), previous data releases have shown that a significant number leave independently without notifying officials.

BBC Verify looked into this issue in March and asked the Home Office how the government can keep claiming credit for returning individuals who go of their own accord.

It said it has both a direct and an indirect role in returns and pointed to wider measures that discourage and prevent immigration offending.

Anthony Reuben
BBC Verify senior journalist

Listing the government’s achievements in his Labour conference speech Prime Minister Keir Starmer included “extending free school meals, 100,000 children lifted out of poverty”.

The government has extended free school meals making them available from September 2026 to any child in England whose parents receive Universal Credit.

It could previously only be claimed by households with an income below £7,400 a year.

Economic think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies said in June, when the policy was announced, that it would in the long-term lift 100,000 children out of poverty.

But its associate director Christine Farquharson said the measure would “not see anything like 100,000 children lifted out of poverty next year”.

Rob England
BBC Verify senior data journalist

In his speech at the Labour Party conference, Keir Starmer spoke about controlling the “vile trade” of people smuggling gangs enabling small boat crossings.

In his Plan for Change, the prime minister committed to “smash” these gangs and cut the number of crossings by 2029. So far the pledge looks off track.

The total number of people crossing the English Channel in small boats this year has returned to record levels after briefly dipping below previous peaks last week.

In the year to 29 September, 33,556 people had arrived in the UK by small boat - 721 more than at the same point in 2022, the highest year on record. The total number of crossings made in 2022 was just over 45,000.

Many factors, including weather, affect the number of crossings so it's not possible to say whether 2025 will surpass 2022 for the highest number of crossings.

However, more than 12,200 people would need to cross before the end of the year, to reach the same level.

Anthony Reuben
BBC Verify senior journalist

Image source, PA Media

We know Keir Starmer arrived at Labour conference in Liverpool by train on Saturday - and we have also learned more about the prime minister’s travel choices in his first year in office, when compared to his predecessors.

Many thanks to David in Southampton who got in touch with BBC Verify in May to ask how Starmer’s use of Royal Air Force (RAF) jets compares with former prime minister Rishi Sunak.

Sunak was criticised in office for using military aircraft for domestic flights and we published this piece in August 2023 saying that in his first six months he used them 23 times which at the time was a faster rate than recent PMs.

The figure was for the number of uses of the aircraft, which could involve a journey with more than one leg.

That analysis was based on a Freedom of Information request to the Ministry of Defence. I waited until Starmer had been in office for a year and then asked the same question again.

From the response we learned two interesting things: After our first request, Sunak’s use of private jets for domestic flights slowed down. He used 23 in his first six months and 11 in his remaining 14 months in office.

Starmer has used RAF jets six times in his first year in office for domestic trips.

Sebastian Vandermeersch and Shayan Sardarizadeh
BBC Verify

Image source, X

We have verified CCTV footage of a powerful explosion outside the headquarters of a paramilitary security force in southwestern Pakistan.

The video shows vehicles moving along a busy road and a person crossing the street, when a sudden blast engulfs the area. It is not clear from the footage what the source of the explosion was, but local reports suggest it came from a vehicle which can be seen turning a corner moments earlier.

Officials said at least eight people were killed and many more injured in the attack in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. Police reported that six attackers exited the vehicle before the blast, engaged in a gun battle with security forces and were killed.

We were able to verify the video using an open source map service to pinpoint the location of the paramilitary Frontier Corps base in Quetta. We then matched the distinctive layout of the road to Google Earth satellite imagery.

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the attack and said “terrorists” were acting on India’s agenda, without providing evidence for the claim. No group has so far said it was responsible for the blast.

Balochistan has seen regular clashes and deadly attacks between militant groups, armed separatists demanding independence and Pakistani security forces for decades.

Shayan Sardarizadeh and Joshua Cheetham
BBC Verify

Some online users have claimed a viral photo of the suspect in the Michigan church attack wearing a pro-Trump shirt is edited or fake, but BBC Verify has found no evidence to suggest the photo is manipulated.

Last night, Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell posted a photo of the suspect, Thomas Jacob Sanford, posing with his wife and son. In the photo, Sanford’s camouflage shirt is emblazoned with a Trump cartoon and the words “re-elect Trump 2020” and “make liberals cry again”.

In a post on X directly addressing JD Vance, Swalwell said he was sure the Republican vice-president “agrees with me that it doesn’t matter that the Michigan terrorist was a MAGA supporter”. Vance has recently been vocal in blaming people on the left for the fatal shootings of Charlie Kirk and migrants at a Dallas immigration facility.

The authorities have yet to establish a motive for the attack on the Mormon church in Grand Blanc, which led to four deaths and eight injuries.

Following Swalwell’s post, some users shared a cropped version of the same photo in which Sanford’s shirt does not carry a pro-Trump design. They claimed that the photo posted by Swalwell was deceptively edited to frame the president’s supporters.

BBC Verify traced the original family photo to a Facebook page apparently run by Sanford and his wife, which documents the journey of their son who was born with a rare genetic disorder.

The photo, posted in September 2019 to celebrate the son’s fourth birthday, does not appear to have any previous edits.

We have also seen the Trump 2020 campaign design and the same words on shirts that can be purchased online.

Benedict Garman, Richard Irvine-Brown and Kumar Malhotra
BBC Verify

Image source, Instagram

While Hamas is reportedly reviewing US President Donald Trump’s proposal for ending the war in Gaza, video we’ve verified shows that Israeli military operations are continuing in Gaza City.

One video posted in the evening on Monday shows people - including children - running to find shelter in the Zeitoun area, as gunfire is heard in the distance. Someone off camera can be heard speaking about there being military vehicles nearby.

A caption shared alongside the video mentions a specific street, which we used to find the exact location of filming using satellite imagery.

Other verified footage shared online overnight shows the sky lit up by flares in an area near al-Shifa hospital, indicating ongoing Israeli military activity.

We’re continuing to monitor the Israeli military’s advance in Gaza City, which has been the focus of its operations since August, with several evacuation orders issued for areas of the city and strikes carried out to demolish high-rise buildings.

On Monday, the IDF claimed it had killed a Hamas commander from the Zeitoun area of the city, external - but we cannot confirm that.

Shruti Menon
BBC Verify senior journalist

We are looking into footage from Indonesia where three children have been killed and dozens more are feared buried under part of a school that collapsed last night.

One video we have verified, which has been filmed from above shows the roof and upper structure of the building has caved in leaving corrugated iron, concrete and other rubble scattered over a wide area.

In the footage we can also see people, several of whom appear to be distressed, waiting on one side of the debris as rescue workers search for survivors.

The surrounding rooftops and buildings visible in the video allowed us to confirm the partially collapsed building was al-Khuziny school in Sidoarjo area of East Java, after comparing it with satellite imagery and other pictures published by news agencies.

Image source, X

Benedict Garman and Merlyn Thomas
BBC Verify

The White House published a map yesterday showing the various lines of Israeli troop withdrawals should Donald Trump’s peace plan go ahead.

Although the map appears to be somewhat approximate - for example, Gaza's southern border with Egypt is not actually as straight as pictured - it gives us an idea of what this peace plan would mean for the Palestinian territory.

If the peace plan followed the boundaries shown on the White House map, the military’s initial withdrawal would leave Gaza about 55% occupied.

The second withdrawal would leave it about 40% occupied.

And the final phase of the withdrawal, which would create a “security buffer zone“, would leave about 15% of Gaza occupied by the Israeli military (IDF).

The peace plan specifies that the “security perimeter presence” would remain until Gaza is “properly secure from any resurgent terror threat”. But it’s unclear when and who decides that this is the case.

It also shows an IDF "current line of control", but this map doesn’t closely correspond to our analysis of areas under evacuation orders or designated militarised zones.

The latest version of the IDF’s own map shows the area the Israeli military calls a "dangerous combat zone" which covers about 80% of Gaza. Also shown is the part of southern Gaza it describes as a "humanitarian area".

Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor

Good morning from BBC Verify.

Following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of 20-point peace plan for Gaza, we’re analysing a map shared by the White House that shows where Israeli troops would withdraw to. We’re seeing what that tells us about Israel’s military control of the Strip and the size of a post-conflict buffer zone. BBC News has continuing live coverage of the latest here

Here are some of the other stories we’re following today:

• We’re seeking expert opinion on whether metal frames or scaffolding and netting seen at one Russian oil refinery is part of an effort to protect against Ukrainian drone strikes

• China has reportedly tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile - we’ve seen footage showing a projectile being fired and are looking for expert opinion on what capabilities the weapon might have
• We’ve verified footage from Indonesia where a school has collapsed killing three students and injuring dozens more. Efforts are under way to find 38 people thought to be buried in the rubble. You can get live updates on this story here

Here in the UK we’re due to hear from Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 14:00 BST when he addresses his governing Labour Party’s conference in Liverpool. Our team will be listening for any claims to fact-check.