Fact check: Video shows MP awake throughout Prime Minister’s Questions

Several social media posts claimed to show an image of Labour MP Carolyn Harris asleep in what appears to be the House of Commons.

Two posts shared the image with the same caption, saying: “Labour MP Carolyn Harris is paid over £97k a year to sleep at work.”

Evaluation

The image is from a Prime Minister’s Questions session in March 2021.

A news broadcast and video from Parliament show Ms Harris was not asleep. The seconds surrounding the frame which the image is from shows her briefly turning her head downwards and then back up towards then prime minister Boris Johnson.

The facts

The social media posts do not claim the image was taken recently, however none make it clear it is over five years old.

A reverse image search found the same photo first circulated on social media on March 17 2021. A day later, Ms Harris spoke to the media and said she “categorically did not – and would never – go to sleep during any session in work”.

Videos of Prime Minister Questions on March 17 2021 shows Ms Harris in the House of Commons, wearing the same clothes as in the image shared online.

The photo aligns with a frame from Parliament’s video of the session (at 12.23.36pm) and with a news broadcast on YouTube (at 21 minutes and 36 seconds). They show Ms Harris looking down to her side with her legs crossed and her arm over the bench.

The seconds before the frame show Ms Harris turning her head down to the side while an MP behind her asks a question. The seconds after the MP’s question then show her head raised and turning towards Mr Johnson as he responds.