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Wes Streeting Nigel Farage’s “deafening silence” over “racist” comments made by his partner has been claimed Reform MP Sarah Pochin “says it all”.
Health Secretary They went on a furious attack after Ms Pochin asked them to talk tv That “seeing ads full of black and Asian people drives me crazy”.
Ms Pochin has since apologised, but Mr Streeting said: “She only regrets that she was called out and that she made her point quietly and out loud.” He said: “The only way to defeat this racism is for us to call it out and face it for what it is.”
Tories’ shadow home secretary chris phillip When pressed on the issue the BBC refused to label Ms Pochin a racist three times. This comes after controversial comments made by his colleague Katie Lam, which suggested that legal immigrants should be deported.
Addressing the issue with Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC, Mr Streeting explained that on Friday, the day before the interview, he had been speaking to teenage boys at one of the schools in his Ilford North constituency about their experience of racism in London, which is “one of the most diverse cities on earth”.
“What they are describing, and what we have seen on our streets in recent weeks and months, is a return to the 1970s, 1980s-style racism that I thought we had left in the history books.”
Since the Labor conference in September, the party leadership has been openly attacking Mr Farage and Reform. This strategy is still not working in the polls, with Reform holding a 10-point lead over Labor in the most recent Techni UK poll. Independent,
But Mr Streeting warned: “What I think [Ms Pochin] Said it was an insult. I think it was racist, and there was deafening silence from his party leader [Farage] says it all. Reform is a party that thinks our flag belongs only to some of us… who look like me, not to all of us who have built this country, built its success.
As Memorial Day approaches, Mr Streeting reflected on memories of the Second World War, saying: “The people who bled and died for our democracy and our freedom were not just my grandfathers and my great-grandfathers, who looked like me and worshiped the same God as me. It was people from across what was then the Empire, now the Commonwealth, people who are Muslims, people who are Sikhs, people who are Hindus, people who are different from you and me. Looks like doing.
“And we must remember this, protect it and fight for what this country is: a civilized, respectful and inclusive democracy, the most successful multi-faith democracy in the world. That’s what we stand for; not reform, and that’s why.”
Independent Comment has been sought from Reform.
However, Mr Farage’s close ally Arron Banks, who stood as a reform mayoral candidate in Bristol, has claimed Ms Pochin should not have apologised.
Mimicking Ms Pochin’s apology, Mr Banks posted on X/Twitter: “I don’t think there’s anything to apologize for.”
Speaking to Sir Trevor Phillips on Sky News, Reform leadership member Zia Yousaf defended Ms Pochin.
He said: “He didn’t say those words and he has apologized saying it was a poorly worded thing, but you have to put it in context. The caller, a gentleman called Stuart, called in and I think he was right to be upset about the massive under-representation of some groups and significant over-representation of others in television advertising, and we have to be able to talk about these things.”
Even while apologizing, Ms Pochin tried to justify her comments.
She said: “My comments talk tv Bad things have been said about the phone-in in the past and I apologize unreservedly for any hurt this caused, which was not my intention.
“What I was trying to say is that many British TV commercials have gone on DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] Crazy and no longer representative of British society as a whole. This is not an attack on any group, but rather an observation about balance and fairness in how our country is portrayed on screen.
Speaking before Sir Trevor Phillips on Sky News, Mr Streeting also criticized resident doctors and members of the British Medical Association, who are due to go back on strike to demand a 29 per cent pay rise.
He accused the BMA of adopting a “somewhat heavy-handed approach” in criticizing the government’s pace in reducing waiting lists in the NHS.
Mr Streeting warned that resident doctors were “damaging patients and NHS recovery” with their planned strike as well as costing the health service £250m.
He said: “Never once does the BMA talk about the waiting list. They do everything they can. They are doing everything they can to hinder our progress with unnecessary and unfair strike action.”