Reform MP who backed burqa ban in hot water over mug showing Starmer in hijab - as row rumbles on

On Wednesday, Sarah Pochin asked Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs whether he would join countries including France, Denmark and Belgium in banning the face and body covering worn by some Muslim women.

Then, on Thursday night, the party's former chairman Zia Yusuf announced he was standing down just 24 hours after describing her call to ban the burqa as "dumb".

Now, the newly-elected MP for Runcorn and Helsby has been spotted holding a mug saying 'Two-Tier Keir' with an edited image of Starmer wearing a Hijab.

Labour has described the MP and Reform UK's "obsession" with British Muslims as "dangerous".

The image was shared with LBC's Lewis Goodall from the anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate.

'Extreme anti-Muslim prejudice'

Commenting on the photo, Georgie Laming from Hope Not Hate said: “This photo and Pochin’s comments this week show her extreme anti-Muslim prejudice.

"The image on the mug has been shared widely in far right circles by extreme figures who use the image to suggest Labour is complicit in the islamification of Britain."

She called on the MP to apologise. LBC has contacted Sarah Pochin for comment.

Read more: Reform chairman Zia Yusuf quits after 'burqa ban' row

Read more: 'Outright totalitarian': Row over burqa erupts after Reform UK MP calls on Prime Minister to implement ban

'Dangerous'

Chair of the Labour Muslim Network, Ali Milani: “Sarah Pochin and Reform UK’s continued obsession with Muslims in Britain is dangerous.

"From using her first question at PMQs to attack what some Muslim women choose to wear, to now being pictured with a vile Islamophobic mug on the campaign trail, we are seeing a clearer picture of what Reform really stands for.

"They are not here to address the real concerns of the British people, but to indulge a divisive fixation with Muslims and migrants.

"Last summer showed us the consequences of allowing this kind of politics to take root.”

In a post on X on Thursday evening, the former Reform chairman Zia Yusuf wrote: "11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.  

"I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office."

Farage has said he is "genuinely sorry" for the chairman's resignation.

He added: "As I said just last week, he was a huge factor in our success on May 1st and is an enormously talented person.

"Politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game, and Zia has clearly had enough.

"He is a loss to us and public life."

A Labour spokesperson said: "If Nigel Farage can't manage a handful of politicians, how on earth could he run a country? He has fallen out with everyone he has ever worked with. Reform are just not serious.

"The Reform chair has done a runner so that he doesn't have to front up Farage's £80 billion in unfunded cuts, which would spark a Liz Truss-style economic meltdown.

"Nigel Farage's plans would put up every single mortgage in the country and hammer family finances, while forcing them to buy private healthcare. Working people simply can't afford the risk of Reform UK."

Wearing face-covering clothes is currently banned in seven European countries - France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria and Bulgaria - while other countries have enacted partial bans.

Yusuf's resignations came as Reform UK hoped to win or come a close second in a by-election for the Holyrood seat of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.

In the end, the party came third with 7,088 votes, 869 votes behind the SNP and 1,471 behind the winning Labour candidate.