Reform UK leader calls Sarah Pochin’s remarks “wrong and ugly” but denies racist intent

Nigel Farage has said Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin did not intend to be racist when she complained that television adverts were “full of black and Asian people”. The Reform leader described her phrasing as “wrong and ugly” but said her remarks were made “in a broader context of DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] madness in the advertising industry”.

Pochin, who represents Runcorn and Helsby, apologised for her comments and said they had been “phrased poorly”, though she maintained that many adverts were “unrepresentative of British society”. Her remarks, made during a TalkTV phone-in on Saturday, have drawn condemnation from across the political spectrum.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the comments “shocking racism” and said they were “the sort of thing that’ll tear our country apart”. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have both urged Farage to suspend Pochin from the parliamentary party.

Asked during a press conference whether he accepted the remarks were racist, Farage said: “I am unhappy with what she has done. 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, then I would have taken a lot more action than I have to date.”

Sir Keir accused Farage of showing “no leadership” on the issue. Speaking to BBC North West Tonight, he said: “Nigel Farage has some questions to answer. 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.”

Labour chairwoman Anna Turley has written to Farage asking whether he endorses Pochin’s comments and if he will withdraw the Reform whip, which would force her to sit as an independent MP. With Labour trailing Reform UK in several recent opinion polls, Starmer has intensified his criticism of the party in recent weeks, previously labelling its immigration policy “racist”.

The controversy follows Pochin’s appearance on TalkTV, where she agreed with a caller who complained about the “demographics” of TV adverts. “It drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people,” she said. “Your average white person is not represented anymore.”

Following the backlash, Pochin said on social media that her comments were not intended to offend. “My comments were phrased poorly and I unreservedly apologise for any offence caused, which was not my intention,” she wrote. “The point I was making is that many British TV adverts have gone DEI mad and are now unrepresentative of British society as a whole.”

She cited a Channel 4 study showing that the proportion of adverts featuring black people rose from 37% in 2020 to 51% in 2022 after the Black Lives Matter movement. “Representation should reflect the diversity of modern Britain, but it should also be proportionate and inclusive of everyone,” she added.

The Liberal Democrats called the remarks “blatantly racist” and urged Parliament to formally rebuke the MP. The party’s home affairs spokesperson, Max Wilkinson, said: “Decent MPs from across party lines should come together to condemn this disgraceful behaviour and show the public that this will never be tolerated.”

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said Pochin’s language was “not acceptable”. Speaking to the BBC, he said: “It’s certainly not language that I would use and I don’t think politicians should speak in those terms.” Later, in an interview with LBC, he added: “The way she made her comments was racist. She should absolutely not have said that. It was completely wrong.”

Pochin, a former councillor who won her seat in a May by-election, was sworn in to Parliament in the presence of Farage earlier this year. Reform UK has not indicated that it will take further action against her.