In September 2025, news spread on social networks that the British Prime Minister had allegedly allowed marriages between close relatives. We have verified the accuracy of such publications.
Messages about changes in British family law appeared in Russian-language Telegram channels on September 21. “Keir Starmer has officially legalized consanguineous marriages between brothers and sisters, fathers and daughters, sons and mothers. He considered this a necessary step, as this was what the Muslim community wanted. Incest is now legal in England,” says the channel “Uncle Slava"(191,000 views at the time of writing this analysis). Similar posts were posted by the channels “Evil proof️"(192,000 views), "Sheikh Tamir» (114,000), etc., as well as users X, Instagram, Facebook And YouTube.
The viral publications are accompanied by a video filmed at a meeting of the House of Commons. In the video, one of the MPs addresses Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer. Some posts provide the following translation of their dialogue:
- Mr Starmer, do you understand what you are doing? You legalize consanguineous marriages between brothers and sisters, between relatives. These are catastrophic risks to human health, many of which cannot be identified before the baby is born. If this practice continues from generation to generation, will the English die out?
- Yes. I have already expressed my position.
At the same time, in the video itself, the deputy formulates his question differently:
— Marriage between first cousins entails serious health problems for their children, many of which become known only after birth. When [this practice] is repeated from generation to generation, there is a significant multiplier effect. It also has a significant impact on the openness of our society and women's rights in our country. After all, having common grandparents has significant dynamics. On Friday the Government will have the opportunity to refer my bill to ban first cousin marriages to committee. Will the Prime Minister think again before instructing his MPs to block this bill?
— Mr. Speaker, we have expressed our position on this bill, thank you.
Judging by the database of transcripts from meetings of the House of Commons, this dialogue happened back in March 2025. Starmer was asked by Conservative MP Richard Holden. Three months earlier he contributed A bill banning marriages between cousins is being submitted to parliament for consideration. Holden explained his initiative by the fact that now in Great Britain illegal only marriages between close relatives: parents and children, brothers and sisters, etc. At the same time, in some communities (for example, among British Pakistanis and Irish nomads) the proportion of marriages between cousins is relatively high. The parliamentarian proposes to ban this practice, which, according to him opinion, threatens both the health of children born in such families and the rights of women.
Text of the bill was published in January, when its second reading was scheduled. However, the initiative called wide public outcry and criticism from experts who indicated to the difficulties of law enforcement and the risk of stigmatization of certain groups where such marriages are a historically established practice. As a result, the second reading moved as of October 31, 2025.
Passage of this bill looks unlikely. The Holden Initiative is an example of a so-called private bill that represents personal position of the deputy and rarely receives support from the ruling party. Commenting on the idea of banning marriage between first cousins, Starmer's press office explainedthat this topic is not a priority for the current government. The Prime Minister himself confirmed this at a parliamentary meeting in March, and it was his answer that was captured in the viral video. As a result, Holden's bill will be considered on a residual basis within the framework of the “10-minute rule”, that is, during the last 10 minutes of eight-hour sittings of parliament. Even if the initiative passes the second reading in October under such conditions, the bill has a long way to go: consideration in the relevant committee, amendments, third reading, final approval, then the same procedure in the House of Lords, the reconciliation process in case of discrepancies between the two chambers and, finally, receiving royal assent. Without the active support of the government and a majority in both houses, the chances of introducing a ban are extremely slim. By the way, the Conservative Party, which Holden represents in parliament, at the time of writing this analysis also did not declare support for the bill, although the deputy persistently promotes him among fellow party members.
The first news about the legalization of consanguineous marriages in the UK published Telegram channel “KDS” September 21 at 21:24 Moscow time. The channel description states: “All posts on the channel are fiction/joke,” but the vast majority of its publications are anti-Islamic, nationalist, or anti-Western in nature. Previously "Verified" already sorted it out the fictitious “KDS” and news spread on Telegram about the non-existent decision of the British authorities. Then the authors of the channel claimed that the country's Minister of Internal Affairs, the daughter of immigrants from Pakistan, with her first decree released 1,100 Pakistanis from prison who were serving sentences for serious crimes.
The spread of false reports about changes in British family law began a few days after Russian State Duma deputy Vitaly Milonov called ban marriages between cousins in Russia. So far, the legal situation in this matter is identical to the British one: according to article 14 Family Code of the Russian Federation, only marriages between close relatives are illegal: parents and children (including adopted ones), grandparents and grandchildren, as well as siblings.
Therefore, claims that Starmer has legalized incest in the UK are untrue. They are based on a post by an anti-Muslim Telegram channel, which used as evidence a video filmed in March and an incorrect translation of the dialogue captured in the video. At that hearing, an opposition MP promoted his bill to ban marriages between cousins (not siblings). The British government, although it did not support the initiative, did not make any proposals for reforms in this area.
Cover photo: Wikimedia Commons
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