Nigel Farage today dismissed Labour‘s claims of ‘racism’ against a Reform UK MP who moaned about TV adverts being ‘full of black people, full of Asian people’.
Both Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting have accused Sarah Pochin, the Runcorn and Helsby MP, of prejudice over her outburst.
But, while he admitted the remarks by Ms Pochin were ‘ugly’ and ‘wrong’, Mr Farage said he did not think ‘the intention behind it was racist’.
He also resisted calls for her to be suspended from Reform despite the backlash.
Ms Pochin has apologised for any offence caused by her ‘poorly phrased’ comments to a TalkTV phone-in show on Saturday.
But she also insisted that many TV adverts are ‘unrepresentative of British society’.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Mr Farage suggested Ms Pochin’s words should be read in the context of ‘DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) madness’.
‘I am unhappy with what she has done,’ the Reform leader said. ‘I understand the basic point. But the way she put it, the way she worded it, was wrong and was ugly.
‘And if I thought that the intention behind it was racist, I would have taken a lot more action than I have to date.’
Nigel Farage has dismissed Labour’s claims of ‘racism’ against a Reform UK MP who moaned about TV adverts being ‘full of black people, full of Asian people’
Both Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting have accused Sarah Pochin, the Runcorn and Helsby MP, of prejudice over her outburst
Ms Pochin was responding to a viewer on TalkTV who complained about the demographics of advertising.
The Reform MP said the viewer was ‘absolutely right’ and ‘it drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people’.
She said: ‘It doesn’t reflect our society and I feel that your average white person, average white family is… not represented anymore.’
Ms Pochin blamed the situation on the ‘woke liberati’ in the ‘arty-farty world’.
‘It might be fine inside the M25, but it’s definitely not representative of the rest of the country,’ she said.
In a later statement, she said she was trying to say the advertising industry had gone ‘DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) mad’.
She said: ‘My comments were phrased poorly and I apologise for any offence caused, which was not my intention.
‘The point I was trying to make is that the British advertising agency world have gone DEI mad and many adverts are now unrepresentative of British society as a whole.
‘I will endeavour to ensure my language is more accurate going forward.’
Sir Keir Starmer accused Ms Pochin of ‘shocking racism’ and called on Mr Farage to ‘take action’ against the Reform MP
Earlier on Monday, when asked if Ms Pochin was racist to say what she did, Sir Keir told BBC North West Tonight: ‘Yes, she was.
‘It’s shocking racism and it’s the sort of thing that will tear our country apart, and it tells you everything about Reform.
‘Nigel Farage has got some questions to answer, because either he doesn’t consider it racist, which in my view is shocking in itself, or he does think it’s racist and he’s shown absolutely no leadership.
‘I’m the Prime Minister of the whole of our country, our reasonable, tolerant, diverse country, and I want to serve the whole country. He can’t even call out racism.’
Asked whether Ms Pochin should have the Reform whip removed by Mr Farage, the PM added: ‘He needs to take action, it’s not a question of just the whip, this is shocking racism, it has to be dealt with and it should be rooted out of his party.
‘And the question for Nigel Farage is, why has he shown absolutely no leadership on this?’
It came after Mr Streeting on Sunday also accused Ms Pochin of racism, as he condemned her comments as ‘a disgrace’.
Asked whether Ms Pochin should have the Reform whip removed by Mr Farage, Sir Keir said: ‘He needs to take action, it’s not a question of just the whip, this is shocking racism, it has to be dealt with and it should be rooted out of his party.
‘And the question for Nigel Farage is, why has he shown absolutely no leadership on this?’
It came after Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Sunday also accused Ms Pochin of racism, as he condemned her comments as ‘a disgrace’.
The Liberal Democrats have sought a censure motion in Parliament to formally rebuke Ms Pochin’s words, urging ‘decent MPs from across party lines’ to unite in condemning ‘this disgraceful behaviour’.
‘If racism has no place in his party, as he continues to protest, then Nigel Farage should prove it by withdrawing the whip immediately,’ the party’s home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson said.
‘Failure to do this will show total contempt for the vast majority of decent British people.’
Speaking to LBC, Tory shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the way Ms Pochin had made her comments was ‘racist’, and ‘it’s right she apologised’.
The Conservative MP for Croydon South said: ‘She should absolutely not have said that. It was completely wrong.
‘She has apologised. I think the way she put it was racist, she shouldn’t have said it and it’s right she’s apologised.’
Zia Yusuf, the head of policy for Reform UK, has said it was right Ms Pochin had apologised.
But he told Sky News that people must be able to ‘talk about’ representation on TV advertising.
