In April 2025, a photograph of a paper letter that the head of the British government allegedly sent to his compatriots spread across the RuNet. It says rising electricity prices in the UK are linked to the Russian threat. We have verified the authenticity of this photo.

A photograph of a document signed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer went viral on April 11. The paper letter talks about international politics, the threat from Russia and the importance of increasing defense spending. With the latter, Starmer allegedly explains the rise in electricity prices and asks to be more tolerant of this. The resources that published a photo of the letter note that such a document was received by the British on the eve of the elections.

A photo of the document was posted on Telegram channels “Uncle Slava"(172,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), "Geoenergetics info"(155,000), "Voblya • news"(126,000), "Sheikh Tamir"(110,000), "Banksta"(108,000), "Freshness"(44,000), etc.

The letter, a photo of which was published online, is addressed to a certain Steven (his full name and address appear to be blurred out in the upper left corner). At the bottom is the signature of the Prime Minister of Great Britain and the leader of the Labor Party, Keir Starmer, both positions are duplicated at the top of the document. The text begins with a memory of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The author describes that era as a moment of hope for a free and democratic Europe. He further emphasizes that back then he could not even imagine that he would again see Russian tanks moving across the European continent. According to the author, the main responsibility of the British government is to ensure the security of the country. In this context, mention is made of Starmer's visit to US President Donald Trump in Washington and the summit of European leaders, including Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, in London. Allegedly, the British Prime Minister says that his government has announced the largest increase in defense spending in the United Kingdom since the Cold War - by £13.4 billion per year. He acknowledges that the British are already feeling the effects of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine (primarily rising prices and disruptions in energy supplies), as well as threats from the Kremlin in cyberspace, at sea and even on the streets of the country. As the letter explains, current investment in security is actually in the interests of British workers - improving the nation's defense capability will be accompanied by support for industry and the creation of jobs across the country.

British prime ministers have previously sent letters to everyone in the country. For example, such a mailing was carried out at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 by the then incumbent Boris Johnson, who called on his compatriots to stay home to combat the spread of the virus. About that campaign reported on the official pages of the Prime Minister on social networks, she is actively illuminated British The media (including those who wondered whether it was justified to spend several million pounds of public money on such a mailing). However, in the case of the alleged letter from Starmer, no relevant press releases or notes could be found.

The design of the letter Johnson sent five years ago is noticeably different from the document in the viral photo. Firstly, at the top of the letter is the address of the Prime Minister's official residence at 10 Downing Street and the British coat of arms. Secondly, the letters sent by Johnson were impersonal - the name of the addressee was not indicated, all residents of the country received the same document.

Johnson addressed his compatriots by mail, because the coronavirus pandemic was an unprecedented situation, which cannot be said about the current state of affairs in the British energy sector. By last According to official data, in the second quarter of 2025 the average household's electricity and gas bill will be higher than in the first quarter by about 6%. The main reason for this jump called increase in wholesale energy prices. Although the current rise in prices is noticeable, it is difficult to talk about it as an energy crisis: for example, in 2022, bills increased by more than 80% in the quarter (and were more than double the current levels). At the same time, the government did not organize any mailings with explanations.

Starmer from time to time posts appeals to British citizens on their social media pages, but these documents are also different from the viral image. In particular, in official addresses the coat of arms is also located at the top, followed by the date and only then the text. Below is the position, first and last name of the official - without an autograph or mention of the Labor Party. Such requests are usually reported and on the official website of the British government.

On the left is a viral image, on the right is an official document with a message from Keir Starmer. Source: collage “Verified”

The resources that distributed the viral image often clarify that the letter allegedly arrived in the mailboxes of the British before the upcoming elections in May. It is not specified who exactly the citizens of the country will elect, but since the letter was signed by the head of government, we can conclude that we are talking about parliamentary elections. The last time they passed in July 2024. The term of office of the House of Commons, the lower house of the British Parliament, is five years, that is, the current convocation expires in 2029. The Prime Minister may address the King with request for dissolution (this is exactly what Starmer’s predecessor Rishi Sunak did), the monarch usually satisfies it, but there has been no announcement of the dissolution of parliament or the calling of early elections. On May 1st in the UK appointed local elections, however they will pass not in all regions and cities of the country. In this case, sending letters dedicated to the elections, as stated in viral posts, to all residents of the kingdom (including those without the right to vote) is at least strange. But even if the letter was sent only to those living in the election districts, it would still have to reach millions of people. However, the same photo is being circulated on social networks.

Finally, there is at least one oddity in the text of the letter itself. 25 February Starmer really announced the largest increase in defense spending since the Cold War (up to 2.5% of GDP annually from 2027), but there is no estimate of £13.4 billion in the official press release. The Prime Minister himself called the same amount, but later was criticized for misleading citizens. Analysis of fact checkers from the British project Full Fact showedThe government plans to spend approximately £6.1 billion more on defense in the 2027 budget than previously planned for the same period. On 26 February, the day after Starmer's announcement, Defense Secretary John Healey confirmedthat the increase would be more than £6 billion, highlighting that different calculation methods can produce different results. It is unlikely that a month and a half after the denial from the head of the military department, the Prime Minister again made an erroneous assessment in a letter to citizens.

On the other hand, the “imprint” indicated at the bottom of the supposed letter indicates that the text could at least have been placed on a genuine form. It states that it was printed by the Welsh campaign A Mclay & Company on behalf of Holly Ridley in the interests of the Labor Party (her address is given right). Ridley became Labor general secretary in September 2024, and the printer from Cardiff already a lot years cooperates with the party.

A reverse Google image search led to the supposed original source of this document. It turned out to be fast on social network X, posted by user @Steve_Laws_ on April 10 at 17:57 Moscow time. “Why is Starmer sending us letters about the fall of the Berlin Wall and Russian tanks?” - the tweet says. The author does not write directly about the mass nature of the mailing, but this conclusion can be drawn from the signature. The user also does not indicate that the letter was received personally by him, although the address at the beginning of the text coincides with the name of the author. In the comments to this post, some wrotethat they had not received such a letter.

The owner of this account is Steve Laws, a far-right activist. famous with its aggressive anti-migrant rhetoric. He stands for forced re-emigration - the deportation of not only migrants, but also British citizens of foreign origin. In his publications, Lowes actively promotes conspiracy theories, including the idea of the great replacement (within the framework of this theory, certain world elites are replacing white Europeans with Muslims). Also an activist on several occasions criticized the British government for, in its opinion, excessive assistance to Ukraine, as well as accused ex-Prime Minister Johnson in the escalation of the war.

In Russian, information about the mass mailing of the letter and its photograph is the first distributed Telegram channel "Banksta" April 10 at 21:50 Moscow time. In this publication, a clarification appeared that the letter was supposedly sent to millions of Britons on the eve of the May elections.

Thus, the mailing of letters from the British Prime Minister to his compatriots, in which Starmer linked rising electricity bills with the Russian military threat, is known only from one photo, originally published on the social network X. There are numerous inaccuracies and oddities in the design and text of the letter.

Cover photo: Wikimedia Commons