Wes Streeting has accused Sarah Pochin of “racism” after the Reform MP said it drives her “mad” when she sees adverts full of “black and asian people”. The Health Secretary said the language was a “disgrace” and marks a return to “1970s and 1980s style racism”.
Ms Pochin has apologised for her comments but Mr Streeting said the “silence” from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage on the matter is “deafening”. “I think what she said was a disgrace,” he told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg show. “I think it was racist, and the deafening silence from her party leader says it all. Reform is a party who thinks that our flag only belongs to some of us who look like me, not all of us who have built this country’s success.”
His remarks come just two weeks after Sir Keir Starmer labelled Reform’s plans to deport 600,000 migrants as racist.
Referencing the servicemen and women who had fought for Britain in the past, the Health Secretary added: “Let’s not forget when we remember the service and the sacrifice with this Poppy that the people who bled and died for our democracy and our freedom weren’t just my grandfather and my great grandfather, who looked like me and worshiped the same God as me.
“It was people from right across what was then the Empire, now the Commonwealth, people who are Muslim people, who are Sikh, people, who are Hindu people who look differently than you and I do.
“And we should remember that, defend it and fight for what this country stands for – a decent, respectful and inclusive democracy, the most successful multi faith democracy in the world.
“We stand for that Reform don’t and that’s why they’re not fit to govern.”
Over the weekend Ms Pochin, the MP for Runcorn and Helsby, said “it drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people” during an interview.
Following a backlash said her comments were “phrased poorly” but insisted that many adverts are “unrepresentative of British society”.
The Runcorn and Helsby MP 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 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.”
Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s head of policy, described Sarah Pochin as a “close friend” and “great MP”, and acknowledged she had made the “poorly phrased” comments and had apologised.
However, speaking on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, he said her comments had to be “put into context”, adding people must be able to “talk about” representation in television advertising.
Mr Yusuf said he believed the Talk TV caller who Ms Pochin was in conversation with was “right to be upset about the massive under-representation of some groups in television advertising and significant overrepresentation of others – and we have to be able to talk about these things”.
He added: “I think it is a very valid point. We must be able to talk about it.”
Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Max Wilkinson said: “Sarah Pochin’s so-called apology was nothing more than a shameless attempt to dodge responsibility for her own words. Instead of showing a shred of remorse, she’s doubled down and tried to excuse the inexcusable.
“Nigel Farage keeps insisting that racism has no place in his party. Now is his chance to prove it – he must withdraw the whip or concede that Reform tolerates blatant racism.”
Reform UK has been contacted for further comment.