A viral claim suggesting that the Metropolitan Police has launched a criminal investigation into COVID-19 vaccine and shutting down vaccination centers is found to be untrue. The claim has been widely shared by the anti-vaxxers who have been against the vaccine ever since it was first rolled out last year.
The fake claim has been fueled by a video which shows the interview of an metropolitan police officer.
Criminal Investigation Into Adverse Reaction by the Vaccine ?
As per the viral claim, the criminal investigation was launched following the adverse reactions from the Covid-19 vaccine. The video clip shows a woman recording a phone call with a Metropolitan Police call handler about a Crime Reference Number (CRN) issued by Hammersmith and Fulham Police.
After reading the CRN number, the woman says, "I've seen this thing online saying that they're under criminal investigation or something, the government are, under this crime number. So, I was just seeing if you could confirm it."
After telling the woman that she will look into the CRN, the police call handler says, " Yes there is one that is in place. Obviously, I can't read all the information within the next few minutes because there's a number of pages as you could imagine."
"Can you just confirm that it is under the criminal investigation about the vaccines?" the woman asks when the call handler replies: "Yes, yes it is. It's interesting isn't it?"
Here is the Truth
Debunking the claim, Reuters reported that no such investigation has been launched. Speaking to the outlet, Metropolitan Police said no such criminal investigation has been launched related to COVID-19 vaccines and confirmed that "no vaccine centers have been shut down" as part of a non-existent probe.
However, the Metropolitan Police told Reuters that no such criminal investigation has been launched related to COVID-19 vaccines and confirmed that "no vaccine centers have been shut down" as part of a non-existent probe.
Ina communique to the outlet a spokesperson said that a CRN does not mean that an investigation has been opened – nor does it mean that a crime has indeed been committed. A CRN is being created means the police force has received and recorded an allegation put forward.
Clarifying that the police call handler misspoke, the spokesperson said, "We are aware of a recording posted online in which a Met Police call handler answers yes to a question asking her to confirm the existence of an ongoing investigation. The call handler misspoke. No criminal investigation has been launched."
