“What we have seen is a return of 1970s and 1980s-style racism I thought we had left in the history books.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said that Reform MP Sarah Pochin’s comments about how it ‘drives her mad seeing adverts full of Black and Asian people’ were racist as he also slammed Nigel Farage for not speaking out.
Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Streeting said that Pochin had only said sorry “because she’s been caught and called out”.
Pochin had made her racist and hateful remarks during a TalkTV phone-in on Saturday, in which she said that ‘it drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people’.
Her comments caused widespread condemnation, with calls for her to resign.
Pochin subsequently apologised for her comments, in a social media post later on Saturday, she said her comments “were phrased poorly and I unreservedly apologise for any offence caused, which was not my intention”.
Streeting said Pochin was “only sorry because she was caught and called out and said the quiet bit out loud”.
Asked about Pochin’s comments, Streeting said: “What she said was a disgrace, I think it was racist.
“What we have seen is a return of 1970s and 1980s-style racism I thought we had left in the history books.
“The only way we are going to defeat this racism is to call it out and confront it for what it is.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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