Pochin's advert remarks 'could be seen as racist'

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin's remarks about adverts being "full" of black and Asian people could be interpreted as racist.

The Runcorn and Helsby MP caused a furore when she said seeing such adverts made her "mad".

While Labour's Rotheram said he did not know if Pochin was racist, he urged MPs to be "really careful" over their choice of language.

Reform leader Nigel Farage said the way Pochin worded her comments was "wrong and ugly" but they were made "in a broader context of DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] madness in the advertising industry".

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer branded her comments as racist, with both Labour and the Liberal Democrats calling for Farage to suspend her from the parliamentary party.

Asked if he accepted Pochin's comments were racist, Farage said: "I am unhappy with what she has done."

Pochin's comments came during a TalkTV phone-in on Saturday, when she said she agreed with a caller who complained about the "demographics" of advertising.

In a later social media post, she said her comments "were phrased poorly and I unreservedly apologise for any offence caused, which was not my intention".

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