Nigel Farage has dismissed accusations of racism against a Reform UK MP who complained about adverts being “full” of black and Asian people.
The Reform leader and Clacton MP said the remarks made by Sarah Pochin were “ugly” and “wrong” but resisted calls for her suspension from the party on Monday.
Mr Farage insisted he did not believe the “intention” behind her comments was “racist” and suggested they should be read in the context of “DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) madness”.
Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Farage had “questions to answer” over the remarks, which he described as an example of “shocking racism”.
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have called for Ms Pochin, who became the Reform MP for Runcorn and Helsby after a by-election earlier this year, to have the party whip withdrawn.
During an appearance on TalkTV, she had responded to a viewer complaining about the demographics of advertising by saying they were “absolutely right”.
She then added that “it drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people”.
Ms Pochin added that “it doesn’t reflect our society” and “your average white person, average white family is… not represented any more”, before later apologising and saying her point had been “phrased poorly”.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Mr Farage said: “I am unhappy with what she has done.”
He added: “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, I would have taken a lot more action than I have to date.”
Speaking to broadcasters earlier on Monday, Sir Keir was asked whether Ms Pochin had been racist to make the remarks.
“Yes, she was,” he said.
“It’s shocking racism and it’s the sort of thing that will tear our country apart, and it tells you everything about Reform.
“Nigel Farage has got some questions to answer, because 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.
“I’m the Prime Minister of the whole of our country, our reasonable, tolerant, diverse country, and I want to serve the whole country.
“He can’t even call out racism.”
In a letter to Mr Farage before he publicly commented on the row on Monday, Labour chairwoman Anna Turley had said the remarks were “racist” and “your silence is deafening”.
“Saying that seeing black and Asian people in TV adverts ‘drives me mad’ is racist. You have the power to withdraw the Reform UK whip from Sarah Pochin,” she said.
“You should do it today.”
Meanwhile, the Lib Dems have sought a censure motion in Parliament to formally rebuke Ms Pochin’s words, urging “decent MPs from across party lines” to unite in condemning “this disgraceful behaviour”.
“If racism has no place in his party, as he continues to protest, then Nigel Farage should prove it by withdrawing the whip immediately,” the party’s home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson said.
“Failure to do this will show total contempt for the vast majority of decent British people.”
Speaking to LBC, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the way Ms Pochin had made her comments was “racist”, and “it’s right she apologised”.
The Conservative MP for Croydon South said: “She should absolutely not have said that. It was completely wrong.
“She has apologised. I think the way she put it was racist, she shouldn’t have said it and it’s right she’s apologised.”
In the Commons, Labour former minister Dawn Butler said she was “completely offended” by Ms Pochin’s comments, adding: “You can be black and brown and be British.”
“It is a racist comment, and can you imagine the constituents of that MP going to see her knowing that she is a racist? These comments appear to be in breach of MPs’ code of conduct, in particular the seven principles of public life,” she said in a point of order.
The Brent East MP later withdrew her comment to avoid being “thrown out of Parliament again”.
“I will withdraw the fact that I am referring to the Member of Parliament as a racist because of her racist comments,” Ms Butler said.
She was previously ejected from the Commons in 2021, after saying then-prime minister Boris Johnson had lied repeatedly to fellow parliamentarians.
In a statement following her initial remarks, Ms Pochin claimed she had been trying to say the advertising industry had gone “DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) mad”.
“My comments were phrased poorly and I apologise for any offence caused, which was not my intention,” she said.
“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.”
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