Video of Pakistani man stealing bag from a British woman

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, the iVerify Pakistan team conducted a reverse image search to corroborate the claim.

Posts from multiple users on social media platform X since August 6, 2025, were sharing a video, claiming it shows a Pakistani man stealing a British woman’s bag. However, the individual in the video is not Pakistani.

HOW IT STARTED

On August 6, a right-wing account on X shared a video showing a man stealing a bag from an elderly woman.

The caption of the post said: “Breaking news: Pakistani man steals old British woman’s bag. The old woman was almost crushed under the car. The UK has fallen.”

The post quickly gained traction, garnering over 1.1 million views.

The same claim was shared by other X users as well as can be seen here, here, and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest since it alleged the involvement of a Pakistani national in a crime in the UK.

A reverse image search led to a news report published by Edinburgh Live, a Scotland-based news outlet, on April 25, 2023, titled: “West Lothian thief jailed after OAP thrown onto suburban street during crime rampage”.

According to the report, the man in the video is Duncan Johnstone, a Scottish national with a history of drug addiction. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for a series of handbag thefts targeting elderly women in West Lothian, Scotland.

One of his victims, an 80-year-old woman, was violently thrown to the ground during the robbery. Johnstone used a stolen Motability car to escape but was apprehended after a police chase. He admitted to being addicted to heroin and Valium and said he would have continued offending had he not been caught.

The news report also features the same viral video.

It is also important to note that the same claim resurfaced previously multiple times in April and July 2025.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows a Pakistani man stealing the bag of a British woman is false.

The person in the video is not Pakistani but a Scottish national.

Evidence and References

April 25, 2023, Edinburgh livenews report:
https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/west-lothian-thief-jailed-after-26777606