Nigel Farage has described comments made by one of his MPs as “ugly” and “wrong” after she said she was driven “mad” by advertisments featuring Black and Asian people.
The Reform UK leader said he was “unhappy” with what Sarah Pochin had said, but stopped short of calling her remarks racist.
He told a press conference in London: “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.”
During an appearance on TalkTV over the weekend, Ms Pochin, the MP for Runcorn and Helsby, responded to a viewer who complained about the demographics of advertising, saying she thought the viewer was “absolutely right”.
She then added: “It drives me mad when I see adverts full of Black people, full of Asian people.”
Mr Farage said he was “unhappy” with what his MP had said, but that her remarks had been made in the context of “DEI madness” – a reference to measures taken by governments to ensure diversity, equity and inclusion.
It came as Sir Keir Starmer described Ms Pochin’s comments as “shocking racism”.
Asked whether the comments made by the MP were racist, the prime minister 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.”
He said that Mr Farage has to face questions about it “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”.
Meanwhile, the shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the way that Ms Pochin had made her comments was “racist” and “it’s right she apologised”.
Speaking to LBC, he 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.”
Earlier on Monday, Labour wrote to Mr Farage asking him to “urgently clarify” whether he endorsed her comments and whether they were welcome in the party, while the Liberal Democrats have sought a censure motion in Parliament to formally rebuke Ms Pochin’s words.
Speaking to TalkTV on Saturday, when asked what she thought was wrong with her advertising comments, she explained: “It doesn’t reflect our society and I feel that your average white person, average white family is … not represented any more.”
Mr Farage made his comments at a press conference in central London, where he said that parliament must “step up” and launch its own investigation into the grooming gangs scandal.
He was sat alongside Ellie-Ann Reynolds, a victim of the grooming gangs scandal who resigned from the government’s inquiry, who spoke of “gaslighting” through the process.
Mr Farage suggested a joint initiative by both the Commons and Lords could lead to the launch of a special commission into the decades-long scandal.
He told reporters that he plans on talking to Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle about the matter, and said he would also ask the Home Affairs Select Committee over the idea of a subcommittee that could investigate.
Ms Reynolds was among five women who departed from the victims liaison panel informing the new national inquiry into grooming gangs.
Their departure, and the loss of the two candidates to chair the probe, threw it into disarray last week.
She told the press conference she had encountered a “very controlling atmosphere” on the panel.
Ms Reynolds added: “It was very gaslighting and very manipulative.
“We all went on to do the right thing, and that was to seek justice, that was to find the truth, to not be silenced anymore, and to be able to help our future.”