Streeting hits out at ‘racist’ comments by Reform’s Pochin

A Cabinet minister has accused Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin of racism after she said “it drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people”.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said her comments were “a disgrace” and hit out at Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage for not rebuking her.

Runcorn and Helsby MP Ms Pochin said her comments were “phrased poorly” and apologised for any offence caused.

But Mr Streeting told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “She’s only sorry that she’s been caught and called out, and she said the quiet bit loud.

He added: “What we have seen on our streets in recent weeks and months is a return of 1970s, 1980s-style racism that I thought we had left in the history books.

“The only way we are going to defeat this racism is to call it out and confront it for what it is, and for the decent majority of this country to stand against it, as we have always done.

“I think what she said was a disgrace. I think it was racist and the deafening silence from her party leader says it all.

“Reform is a party who think that our flag only belongs to some of us who look like me, not all of us who have built this country, built its success.”

Ms Pochin was responding to a viewer on TalkTV who complained about the demographics of advertising.

The 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 any more.”

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.”

Zia Yusuf, the head of policy for Reform UK, told Sky News it was right Ms Pochin had apologised, but he added that people must be able to “talk about” representation on television advertising.

Speaking on Sunday, Mr Yusuf said: “I know Sarah very well, I was instrumental in her selection as a candidate, worked very hard to get her elected, and I’m extremely glad that I did.

“I consider her a close friend and she’s a great MP for Runcorn.

“She did say those words and she has apologised, saying it was a poorly phrased thing to say, but you’ve got to put that into context.”

Mr Yusuf urged viewers to “listen to the whole thing” and said the TalkTV caller had been “rightfully upset about the massive under representation of some groups in television advertising, and significant over representation of others”.

He added: “I know Sarah extremely well, she’s a lovely person. She’s apologised, rightly, because it was poorly phrased as she said.

“But as I said, Stuart who called in about under representation of some people on television and over representation of others, I think is a very valid point we must be able to talk about.”

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp told LBC the way Ms Pochin made her comments was “racist”.

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 its right she’s apologised.”