Facts

Mr Scully was quoted in the Daily Telegraph, which published a softer and more carefully written version of the Mail on Sunday story five days earlier to the effect that the government was restoring the crown symbol to pint glasses.

In 2006, EU legislation implemented the Conformité Européenne (EC) mark as ”the symbol of an accurate measure on pint glasses. This meant all glasses had to bear the CE mark, but the EU rules did not ban the crown mark as suggested by the Daily Telegraph. Nor did the EU order the UK to remove it. For a detailed explanation see this excellent Full Fact analysis

Verdict

It was impossible to “restore” the crown mark since EU rules did not ban the crown mark from pint glasses in the first place.

Note the ease with which Conservative supporting British newspapers readily gave repeated publicity to a cheerful story which helped the government look good.

We approached Paul Scully's office and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities to give him a chance to comment, but received no response.