From BSE and baby sleeping positions to face masks and fruit juice, official advice in the UK has sometimes changed course. This archive puts the before and after side by side, with links to the original records.
Every case is fact-checked. Some changes are fully documented. Others turn out to be weaker than the popular story, and we say so.
See all 27 cases
The UK timeline
A wider catalogue of 197 British stories from 1945 to 2026, covering food, NHS medicines, scandals, the courts, state secrets, laws and government promises.
Browse the fact-checked cases by subject
- COVID-19 (2)
- Health and medicine (6)
- Food and nutrition (8)
- Environment, transport and buildings (5)
- Schools and education (4)
- Emergencies and climate (2)
At a glance
- Cases
- 27 subjects, drawn from 35 register entries
- Change documented
- 13 cases
- Partly documented
- 9 cases
- Claim not established
- 5 cases
- Sources
- Hansard, legislation, official guidance, scientific committees, archives and news reports
Last reviewed: 12 November 2026. This site is general information, not medical or legal advice.