Claim 1: British parliamentarians have unanimously supported Imran Khan for the role of Chancellor at Oxford University.
Claim 2: Three members of the British House of Commons have endorsed Imran Khan for the Oxford Chancellorship.
Claim 3: Boris Johnson has withdrawn his candidacy for the same position and expressed his support for Imran Khan instead.
Fact 1: Conservative peer Lord Daniel Hannan, and independent Members of Parliament (MPs) Shockat Adam and Adnan Hussain have separately endorsed Imran Khan for the post of chancellor at Oxford University.
Several misleading posts on social media claimed that the former Pakistani Prime Minister is receiving “full support” from British parliamentarians, including this post (archive) on X. While only three members of the British Parliament have publicly backed Khan for Oxford University’s chancellorship, the post implies that a significant number of them have expressed their support for the jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister.
Fact 2: Two, and not three members of the House of Commons have endorsed Khan’s nomination for the University’s chancellorship. Adam and Hussain are members of the House of Commons, while Lord Daniel Hannan is a member of the House of Lords.
One Facebook post claimed that three members of the British House of Commons announced their support for Imran Khan’s candidacy for the chancellorship.
Fact 3: Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not withdrawn his candidacy for Oxford chancellorship.
X user @Bakhtt_PTI shared an old photo (archive) of Boris Johnson and Khan with the caption: “بریکنگ نیوز
سابق برطانوی وزیراعظم بورس جانسن نے
چانسلر کے لیے اپنے کاغذات واپس لے کر عمران خان کی حمایت کا اعلان کر دیا۔”
[Translated from Urdu: Breaking news
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
He withdrew his papers for the chancellorship and declared his support for Imran Khan.]
Mazhar Barlas, a columnist for The Daily Jang, mentioned the claim that Boris Johnson stepped down in favour of Imran Khan in his column (archive), writing: “حتیٰ کہ برطانیہ کے سابق وزیراعظم بورس جانسن، عمران خان کے حق میں دستبردار ہو کر کپتان کی انتخابی مہم میں شامل ہو گئے ہیں۔”
[Translated from Urdu: Even the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Boris Johnson, has stepped down in favor of Imran Khan and joined the captain’s election campaign.]
The claim has since been shared widely across social media, including here and here on Facebook.
Imran Khan’s candidacy
Former Pakistani cricketer turned politician Imran Khan attended Keble College, Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). In 2018, Khan’s PTI won the general elections, and he served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Khan’s candidacy for the Oxford University Chancellorship was officially confirmed when his close aide, Zulfi Bukhari, announced that Khan’s application had been submitted for the 2024 election. The former PTI chairman’s decision to run for the position despite being imprisoned has drawn attention globally/been reported on widely in the media/has sparked conversation globally.
The election is scheduled for the third week of Michaelmas term, starting on 26 October 2024.
According to the role’s description available on Oxford University’s website, the Chancellor of the University of Oxford is the ceremonial head of the institution, offering supportive advice and guidance, particularly to the Vice-Chancellor. While the role lacks executive responsibilities, it involves presiding over key events and serving as the Visitor for several colleges.
The Chancellor chairs the Committee for the Nomination of the Vice-Chancellor and must be accessible year-round. This unremunerated position requires a candidate with outstanding achievements, a deep appreciation for the University’s mission, and the ability to enhance its reputation globally.
Fact or Fiction?
To investigate the first claim, Soch Fact Check conducted a keyword search and found a video by the Turkish broadcast news outlet TRT World that confirmed the support of Conservative Peer Lord Daniel Hannan, and Independent MPs Shockat Adam and Adnan Hussain.
On 3 September, PTI’s official X account also shared TRT World’s video (archive) with the caption: “Imran Khan, an Oxford graduate and former prime minister Pakistan, has been jailed since 2023 on multiple charges, which he claims are politically motivated. Despite his imprisonment, his popularity remains high, and his party, PTI, was the largest in the last general elections. Khan previously served as the chancellor of Bradford University. His bid for the Oxford chancellorship has received support from British MPs including Lord Daniel Hannan, Shockat Adam and Adnan Hussain. Their position is a ceremonial role for 10 years involving presiding over ceremonies and acting as the university’s ambassador.”
Additionally, we came across a detailed article by the Middle East Eye (MEE) on the three British MPs backing Imran Khan for the role of Oxford University’s chancellor. The report described Daniel Hannan’s background as a Conservative peer, writer, former European Parliament member, and founding president of the Initiative for Free Trade. It also mentioned that Hannan, an Oxford alumnus, is eligible to vote in the election.
In an interview with the MEE, Hannan expressed his support for Khan and praised him as a significant figure in philanthropy, sports, and politics. “He would make a superb chancellor for the world’s foremost university,” Hannan said.
The article also highlighted that Shockat Adam, an independent MP for Leicester South, told the MEE that Khan’s appointment for the post would be a “universal symbol of resistance.” He added, “It would send a powerful message of hope and exemplify the notion that walls merely imprison one’s body but not one’s beliefs.”
Moreover, the MEE’s report stated that Adnan Hussain, the independent MP for Blackburn, described the chancellorship as “one of the most esteemed roles in public life” and praised Khan’s post-Oxford journey as “exemplary.” In a conversation with the news outlet, he noted that, “Imran Khan’s hard work and dedication to everything he does in life is an inspiration for the youth desperately in need of role models, especially Pakistani youth, both here and in Pakistan.” Adding to this statement, Hussain told the MEE that, “By appointing him, Oxford University will be recognising and showcasing all his accomplishments. As someone with Pakistani heritage myself, it would be a badge of honour and pride for us all if the most prestigious British institution chose Imran Khan for this role.”
We reviewed the X accounts of the respective figures and found a post (archive) by Lord Daniel Hannan, in which he reshared the MEE article and remarked, “It says nothing good about the state of Pakistani politics that @ImranKhanPTI, who has now languished in prison for over a year on fabricated charges, can more easily contest an election here than there. 🇬🇧🇵🇰 #FreeImranKhan”
No other British MPs have publicly voiced support for Imran Khan’s bid for the Oxford chancellorship. Therefore, claims suggesting that Khan has received “full support” for his nomination from British parliamentarians are misleading as they imply that the former PTI chairman has received unanimous support from them.
To verify the claim that three members of the British House of Commons have endorsed Imran Khan for the Oxford Chancellorship, we checked the UK Parliament’s official website. The information available on the platform confirmed that Shockat Adam and Adnan Hussain are independent MPs in the House of Commons, while Lord Daniel Hannan is a member of the House of Lords.
Lastly, Soch Fact Check did not find any official statements from Boris Johnson confirming his withdrawal from the chancellorship race or declaring support for Imran Khan. A further search led us to conclude that no credible news outlets have reported on such a development either. In fact, we found that Boris Johnson has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the position. However, his candidacy has not been officially confirmed, and other figures like Theresa May are also considered possible contenders.
Virality:
The misleading claim that Khan received “significant” or “unanimous” support for his nomination from British parliamentarians was shared here and here on Facebook.
On X, a reiteration of the claim was shared here (archive).
The false claim that three members of the House of Commons have endorsed Khan’s nomination was shared here on Facebook.
The false claim that Boris Johnson withdrew his nomination papers and declared support for the former Pakistani Prime Minister was shared here (archive) and here (archive) on X.
It was also shared here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook.
On Threads it was shared here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The claims that British parliamentarians are unanimously supporting Imran Khan for the Oxford University Chancellorship are misleading. While Lord Daniel Hannan and independent MPs Shockat Adam and Adnan Hussain have endorsed the former premier, no other parliamentarians have publicly expressed support. Additionally, there is no evidence to suggest that Boris Johnson has withdrawn his candidacy for the post and expressed his support for Imran Khan.
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Background image in cover photo: Wikimedia; Aaj News; Ivy Tutors Network
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