POSTS SPREAD ONLINE falsely claim that the United Kingdom will be accommodating thousands of migrants who stormed the borders of a Spanish enclave in North Africa last month.

The claims, which have been shared by Irish social media users, have no evidence to back them up.

About 70,000 to 80,000 people crossed from Morocco into the Spanish-controlled territory of Ceuta in the last few days of July. Most of the people then left again within days.

Thousands of migrants who crossed from Morocco are believed to still be in the city, though there are no up-to-date precise figures on the number of people who remain there.

The ongoing situation has been the subject of many false claims, including that the UK will be taking in many of those who came to Ceuta. 

“New UK Prime Minister says Britain will start taking & accommodating 4,000 of the Moroccan invaders who took over Ceuta,” reads a screenshot of a post on X.

This screenshot has been widely shared online, including in a post by an Irish user that has been shared more than 350 times since it was uploaded to Facebook on 20 August.

The text goes on to claim that “Moroccan migrants” had murdered Spanish people in Ceuta.

The screenshot appears to be of an X post from a well-known conspiracy theorist who regularly spreads misinformation — though the original post is no longer visible on his timeline.

There is no evidence that Andy Burnham, who has been the British prime minister since July, has said the UK is accepting thousands of migrants from Ceuta. 

There are no credible reports of Burnham saying that the UK will take in migrants from Ceuta, and his actual public responses have focused on his government’s plans to reduce the number of migrants coming to Britain.

When asked directly about Ceuta, Burnham responded: “That’s a matter for the Spanish government.”

The claim that the Moroccan migrants have murdered Spanish people in Ceuta also appears to be false.

There have been reports of crime since the tens of thousands of people entered the territory. These include cases of sexual assault and harassment, though these have been largely against migrant women. 

There was also a reported stabbing on 1 August, although in that case the victim was a migrant themselves, and they survived. No murders have been reported.

The claims made in the screenshot are therefore baseless. The British prime minister has not announced that the UK is taking in 4,000 Moroccan migrants in Ceuta, and there are no credible reports that Moroccans had murdered Spanish people in Ceuta.

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