‘We do not appreciate complete fiction like this.’
Sarah Pochin MP is facing backlash after claiming that she helped a boxing club in Runcorn to secure funding.
Following a visit to Runcorn Amateur Boxing Club (ABC), she posted a video taking credit for helping them get funding.
In the video, she said: “My office has managed to help them get funding to keep them going for another 12 months because they do great work for young people in Runcorn.”
The Reform MP for Runcorn and Helsby said she had worked closely with Dean from the boxing club to secure the funding.
But the club responded to the video on Facebook, calling the claims “absolute fabrication” and stressing they have “received no funding from Reform”. They also said they hold “no connection to any political party”.
The club provides gym instruction and personal training qualifications for 15-19-year-olds, alongside GCSE Maths and English classes.
In a statement on their page, they wrote: “Runcorn Amateur Boxing Club would like to take this opportunity to clear up an issue regarding a post made by Sarah Pochin representing the Reform Party in our town.
“In this video she states that she has helped get funding for runcorn abc, this is complete fabrication.”
The statement added: “We have received no funding from Reform and are sure Sarah is aware of this aswell.”
The boxing club also said they did not given Pochin permission to film inside, and it “therefore should not of [sic] happened”.
They added: “Having spoken to Reform we have asked for the video to be removed immediately and for an apology to be issued, and we do not appreciate complete fiction like this.”
This morning, Pochin responded, saying: “There has been some confusion around the funding my team helped secure from Juniper Training for Diverse Sports Runcorn”.
Pochin’s team appears to have made a case to Juniper Training to continue funding Diverse Sports Runcorn, which operates at the boxing club, but she didn’t directly secure the funding.
In her statement this morning, Pochin said: “My office worked closely with Dean and his team to make the case to Juniper Training, and I am very pleased that funding was ultimately secured, allowing this vital work to continue.
“I also want to make clear that Diverse Sports Runcorn operate within Runcorn Amateur Boxing Club, but they are entirely separate organisations. The video posted earlier this week did not make that distinction clear enough.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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