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.
Racism
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”.
‘Woke liberati’
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.”
Representation
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.”
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She means she’ll ensure her outspoken language will hide her internal monologue and motives more effectively going forward.
Duplicitous racist.
She needs to resign. Ideally yesterday.
She will find friends among parliament’s window lickers, gobby blinders, pavement preachers and former home secretaries…
She’s only mouthing the inner prejudices of many of our fellow citizens.
Mouthing it out makes it more believable though. This amplifies those inner prejudices. These inner feelings of prejudice stops us from integrating better with each other.
The Fat Shanks Effect, it’s ok to mouth your prejudices says he on the BBC top comedy program…
It’s “Programme ” in the U.K.
Thanks to the French.
Whether you like it or not she has a point about deemphasising the white population. Admittedly the white population is now a minority in London and Birmingham among other cities but there is still a white population outside these areas and they should be equally represented in the media. There is a growing racism on the part of the non whites to the whites not just Asians raping poor white children which at its heart is racist. Unless we face these difficult issues openly and resolve them we are going to get right wing and religious inspired unrest and civil… Read more »
So the white grooming gang recently sentenced to prison in Manchester were wearing white face paint the while time. And Jimmy Saville was a closet Pakistani. I have the experienced the hate rhetoric of the British national front in the 80s as well. What makes you more superior than me? This politician is a racist and she should resign.
If this was genuinely about the welfare of children the inquiry would be about all institutional child abuse, including Savile, priests and private schools. When it’s only about one narrow case you have to wonder what’s really going on.
The Jay inquiry was very comprehensive and came out several recommendations none of which have been implemented by this or the previous government. Why are you not questioning that?
There’s a long history of inquiries that achieve nothing more than talking therapy for victims and nothing fundamentally changes. And what we’re now hearing about family courts sending kids home with their abusers says Jay changed nothing.
Who is to blame for that: the person leading the inquiry or the person in charge of putting the recommendations of the inquiry into place?
She was overtly racist. That is not trying to say “she has a point”, it was racist.
Yep
Any word from Reforms owner farage yet?
Of course he will suspend her for these overt racist comments. They are quite vile. Wait, he hasnt suspended her yet? Shocked I tell you.
Nah, the party where racists like pochin feel safe are not going to say anything.
Their bots are already down voting us.
Indeed.
But it does not remove the fact that in failing to act, farage endorses this. It is too late now. This is reform. A party where you go if you are not happy to voice your racism in other parties. Though one wonders when jenrick will go to reform.
Yep. And I think all tories are deform in waiting.
Join the Counter-Reformation against Putin’s Gobby Blinders
Down with Gobbus Faragious
The Moscow Files; what MI5 did not look for…The Fat Shanks Effect…
Long Covid, another ?
If it’s a criminal outfit you’re looking for, try the Tories…
Sarah Pochin recently on Facebook
‘Tremendous effort by our Lionesses tonight to beat Spain and bring it home! Every single one of them has done the country proud and shown what fantastic….’
Two-faced; hypocrite; thick as two short planks; she has a black and white TV and thought all the England players were just shades of grey; she’s a champion for keeping racism out of sport.
Take your pick.