The Brexit brigade is still going on about bendy bananas and the return of imperial measures. But it is a strategy born of ignorance or – worse – panic.

The staunchly eurosceptic Daily Express has published a listicle about the “amazing things we get back if we leave EU”. / “From powerful vacuums to straight banana’s (sic), here are all the things we’ll get back if we vote out,” the paper says. / The piece has been getting widely shared online. But does it pass the FactCheck test?

The EU has ruled on the curves of cucumbers, forbidden hairdressers from wearing heels, and even financed a porn film. These urban legends about decisions taken in Brussels are as endless as they are false. And they all get the kiss of life in the same place: the British tabloids.