Quarter in UK believe Covid was a hoax, poll on conspiracy theories finds

Survey also finds one in seven say violence is fair response to alleged conspiracies such as 15-minute cities'

The UK is home to millions more conspiracy theorists than most people realise, with almost a quarter of the population believing Covid-19 was probably or definitely a hoax, polling has revealed.

About a third of the population are convinced that the cost of living crisis is a government plot to control the public, and similar numbers think 15-minute cities" - an attempt to increase walking in neighbourhoods - are a government surveillance ruse, and that the great replacement theory" - the idea that white people are being replaced by non-white immigrants - is happening.