Methodology
Source-reliability scale
Source labels help readers distinguish official records, expert reports, parliamentary material, mainstream reporting, commentary and unverified claims. A higher source level does not automatically mean a claim is correct; it means the source type is easier to verify and should generally carry more evidential weight.
- 1Court/officialLevel 1 — Court or official record
Judgments, sentencing remarks, CPS material, Court of Appeal rulings, CCRC statements, Thirlwall Inquiry transcripts and exhibits. Primary public-law record.
Examples: Court of Appeal judgments, Trial sentencing remarks, CPS public statements, CCRC statutory communications, Thirlwall Inquiry transcripts and exhibits.
- 2Expert/professionalLevel 2 — Expert report or professional body
Named expert reports, position statements from professional bodies, peer-reviewed medical or statistical literature.
Examples: Shoo Lee International Expert Panel report, Royal Statistical Society material, RCPCH review and guidance, Peer-reviewed medical journal articles.
- 3ParliamentaryLevel 3 — Parliamentary record
Hansard, written questions, formal debate contributions and other parliamentary material.
Examples: Commons adjournment debates, House of Lords short debates, Hansard written questions, Select Committee minutes.
- 4Mainstream newsLevel 4 — Mainstream reporting
Established news outlets with editorial standards and correction policies.
Examples: BBC, The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph, The New Yorker, Private Eye M.D. column.
- 5CommentaryLevel 5 — Commentary or analysis
YouTube analyses, blogs, podcasts, opinion columns, campaign commentary. Useful for orientation but should be cross-checked against levels 1–4.
Examples: YouTube analyses, Substack and blog posts, Podcast episodes, Opinion columns, Campaign commentary.
- 6UnverifiedLevel 6 — Anonymous or unverified
Anonymous claims, unattributed documents, unsourced social-media posts. Treat with caution unless corroborated by a higher-level source.
Examples: Anonymous social-media posts, Unattributed leaked documents, Single-sourced rumour.
How we apply the scale
Wherever a major evidence card, document record, transcript record or person profile makes a factual claim, we attach the highest-applicable source-reliability level. Where a claim rests on multiple sources we typically attach the highest level present.
What the scale does NOT mean
- A level-1 source is not automatically right. Courts make findings on the evidence put before them; subsequent expert evidence can challenge a finding without making the court’s record incorrect at the time it was made.
- A level-5 source is not automatically wrong. Independent commentary has surfaced material that higher-tier sources later confirmed.
- A level-6 (unverified) tag is not an accusation. It just means we have not yet seen corroboration at a higher level.
How we update levels
When new evidence appears — for example a Court of Appeal judgment, a CCRC statement of reasons, a published expert report, or a Thirlwall exhibit — we re-tag affected items and log the change in our changelog. If you think a tag is wrong, send us a correction.