Reform UK has defended one of its MPs who was accused of ‘racism’ after she complained there were too many black and Asian people in television adverts.
Zia Yusuf, head of party policy, said comments made by his ‘close friend’ Sarah Pochin should be put into context – and that she had made a ‘valid point’.
Ms Pochin became the party’s first by-election-winning MP following her win in Runcorn and Helsby in May.
But she apologised yesterday, admitting her comments made earlier this week were ‘phrased poorly’.
The remarks were aired on Talk TV in response to a viewer who took issue with the demographics of modern-day advertising.
Ms Pochin sympathised with the caller, saying they were ‘absolutely right’ and ‘it drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people’.
Mr Yusuf acknowledged his colleague had made ‘poorly phrased’ remarks and that she had apologised.
But speaking on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, he said people must be able to ‘talk about representation in television advertising’.
Reform MP Sarah Pochin (pictured) issued an apology after saying ‘it drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people’
Zia Yusuf, head of party policy, said comments made by his ‘close friend’ Sarah Pochin should be put into context – adding that she had made a ‘valid point’
The former party chairman said the Talk TV caller had been ‘right to be upset about the massive under-representation of some groups in television advertising and significant representation of others’.
In her response to the viewer, Ms Pochin had said such adverts did not ‘reflect our society’.
She added: ‘I feel that your average white person, average white family is… not represented anymore’.
The 56-year-old blamed the situation on the ‘woke liberati’ in the ‘arty-farty world’, adding: ‘It might be fine inside the M25, but it’s definitely not representative of the rest of the country.’
Her comments triggered a furious backlash from some quarters of the political spectrum.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting branded the remarks a ‘disgrace’ and called them ‘racist’.
Labour party chairman Anna Turley said: ‘It’s astonishing that a senior Reform MP is spending her time counting the numbers of people with a different skin colour to her on TV adverts.
‘Defining British people by the colour of their skin is completely unacceptable and shows once again that Reform are more interested in dividing our country than uniting it.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting branded the remarks a ‘disgrace’ and called them ‘racist’
‘Nigel Farage needs to condemn this now, and urgently clarify whether Sarah Pochin’s views on race are welcome in his party.’
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats demanded Ms Pochin lose the party whip, which would force her to sit as an independent MP in the Commons.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said it was ‘certainly not language’ he would use’, adding ‘I don’t think politicians should speak in those terms’.
However, he said ‘we should acknowledge the public does have legitimate concerns about large-scale immigration that needs to be controlled and discussing that certainly is not racist’.
In her apology, Ms Pochin said she was trying to say the advertising industry had gone ‘DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) mad’.
She posted to X: ‘My comments on a Talk TV phone-in earlier today were phrased poorly and I unreservedly apologise for any offence caused, which was not my intention.
‘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. This is not an attack on any group but an observation about balance and fairness in how our country is portrayed on screen.
‘A study commissioned by Channel 4 as part of its Mirror On The Industry project, found that Black people were featured in more than half of adverts in 2022, up sharply from 37 per cent in 2020 following the Black Lives Matter movement.
Sarah Pochin, who won Runcorn and Helsby’s by-election for Reform UK, threw her support behind a ban on burqas during Prime Minister’s Questions in May
‘By contrast, Black people make up around 4 per cent of the population in England and Wales, according to the 2021 Census.
‘Representation in advertising should reflect the diversity of modern Britain, but it should also be proportionate and inclusive of everyone. My comments were made in that context, and I stand by the principle that equality should mean fairness for all.’
Mr Streeting claimed Ms Pochin was ‘only sorry she’s been caught and called out’.
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.
‘The deafening silence from her party leader says it all.’
Ms Pochin was on the receiving end of criticism by members of her own party in June this year over her question to Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions about banning the burqa.
Mr Yusuf, when he was Reform’s chairman, hit out at the MP’s ‘dumb’ question in the House of Commons.
Ms Pochin asked Sir Keir if he would support outlawing the burqa – which is worn by some Muslim women – ‘in the interests of public safety’.
But Reform officials sowed confusion by later revealing that banning the burqa is not the party’s official policy.
In a hint at an internal party row, Mr Yusuf posted on X: ‘I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do.’
The Reform chairman said Ms Pochin’s question was ‘nothing to do with me’ as he was ‘busy with other stuff’.
‘Had no idea about the question nor that it wasn’t policy,’ he added.
Mr Yusuf resigned from the party later that day but returned soon after.
