A VIRAL IMAGE purporting to be a letter from British Prime Minister Andy Burnham ordering veterans to deploy to Ukraine is a hoax.

The image, which looks like a photo of an official letter from the UK’s Ministry of Defence, was first posted on social media on 31 August and was shared dozens of times in the days afterwards.

The letter begins: “As you will be aware, the security situation in Eastern Europe remains critical. In light of your previous military experience and the urgent operational requirement, you are hereby ordered to return to active service in the British army.”

Here is what the purported letter looks like:

Facebook Facebook

However, there are multiple clues that point to the letter being fake.

In the top right-hand corner, a reference number reads “FOI2024/07652″.

That reference number seems to refer to the specific number of a Freedom of Information request, which is why it has the letters “FOI” at the start.

The Journal could not find any publicly available UK documents with that reference number, but other available FOI responses from the Ministry of Defence show a format consistent with the top of the letter, featuring the ministry’s logo and contact details. 

The viral letter is not a standard FOI response – it does not mention a request for information or the disclosure of records.

It is likely that the template of an FOI response was altered to look like a legitimate document.

There are other clues that the letter is a hoax too.

It is signed by Andy Burnham, who may be the UK Prime Minister but is not the country’s Defence Secretary – that is Wes Streeting.

The signature on the letter also doesn’t match other images that show Burnham’s signature, like this one on a website set up during his run for Manchester mayor in 2021; the first ‘A’ in the viral image has straight lines, whereas the 2021 signature is much more rounded.

The text of the letter also contains some unusual suggestions.

It tells recipients to prepare themselves for conflict by watching movies like Saving Private Ryan and The Dam Busters, and to familiarise themselves with the video game Call of Duty.

Finally, there has been no credible news reports of the supposed deployment in the UK media or elsewhere.

Despite this, the image was widely shared on platforms like Facebook and Instagram as if it was genuine, clocking up millions of views.

It does not appear to have been shared by any public accounts since 3 September – though it remains live on both platforms where it can still be seen by unwitting users.

The Journal’s FactCheck is a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles. You can read it here. For information on how FactCheck works, what the verdicts mean, and how you can take part, check out our Reader’s Guide here. You can read about the team of editors and reporters who work on the factchecks here.