Reform’s Sarah Pochin forced to apologise after claiming adverts 'full of black people' drive her 'mad’
The Runcorn and Helsby MP was responding to a viewer live on air who complained about the demographics of advertising.
Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin has bee forced to apologise after saying “it drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people".
Listen to this article
Backtracking, the Reform UK member said her comments were “phrased poorly” but insisted that many adverts are “unrepresentative of British society”.
Labour blasted her comments as “completely unacceptable” and called on Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to condemn them - something that's yet to take place.
The Runcorn and Helsby MP was responding to a viewer live on air who complained about the demographics of advertising.
She said the viewer was “absolutely right” and “it drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people”.
Ms Pochin said: “It doesn’t reflect our society and I feel that your average white person, average white family is… not represented anymore.”
Read more: 'Shy Reformers' will deliver us victory, says MP Sarah Pochin - as she blasts Rayner over tax storm
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 claimed 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.”
Labour Party chairwoman 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.
“Nigel Farage needs to condemn this now, and urgently clarify whether Sarah Pochin’s views on race are welcome in his party.”