Moment grooming gang survivor silences room during bombshell Reform conference | Politics | News
A survivor of Britain’s grooming gangs scandal stunned journalists who demanded comment from Nigel Farage about Sarah Pochin at the Reform UK press conference this afternoon. While the press conference was a major intervention by Mr Farage into the grooming gang scandal, he faced repeated questions from broadcasters about Ms Pochin’s remarks at the weekend about diversity in British advertising.
Ms Pochin claimed during a live television interview that “seeing ads full of black and Asian people drives me crazy”. Responding to a TalkTV caller, Stuart said: “I believe this is something that happened because of the woke Liberals in there.”
Mr Farage made his first comments about the debate today, saying he was “unhappy” with the Runcorn MP and that his remarks were “very, very unpleasant”. The Reform chief fumed: “The words used by Sarah Pochin…were outrageous and, taken in isolation, can be read as very unpleasant indeed. “I’m not happy with what she’s done – don’t take that lightly – and she knows exactly how I feel.
“But in the broader context of the DEI craze in the ad industry, anyone with half a brain can understand that this is something that has been going on since 2021. So I understand the basic point, but the way he phrased it, the way he phrased it, was wrong and ugly.
“If I thought the intent behind this was racist, I would have taken much more action than I should have.”
Despite efforts to put a line in the sand on the race order, journalists continued to press Mr Farage for more details and answers.
In a surprising move, grooming gang survivor Ellie Reynolds, who made damning comments about the government’s investigation at Reform’s press conference, asked Mr Farage if he could answer repeated questions about Sarah Pochin.
Appearing surprised, Mr Farage interrupted Ms Reynolds, who launched into a scathing tirade.
He blasted: “I find it quite exaggerated that every single one of these journalists would say anything about a comment made by Sarah. [Pochin]This is understandable, absolutely fine.
“Yet it took decades for the media to realize that grooming gangs were coming in and raping our children because they were white, which was racially motivated and racist.”
Mr Farage appeared stunned by the guttural attack and quietly added: “100%. God, that’s so powerful. So powerful.”
After the conference, a Reform source added that Ms Reynolds was “fantastic”.
Speaking at the podium, Ms Reynolds, who left the government’s grooming gang investigation last week in response to Home Office attempts to widen the scope of the investigation, revealed she and other survivors had been “gaslit” and “manipulated”.
He told the chamber that the investigation had been “a mess from the start” and accused the government of “managing a very controlling atmosphere, very exciting, very manipulative.”
“The way we were spoken to was very degrading and very controlling. We were not allowed to seek support from family members or other survivors on the panel.”
Ms Pochin said yesterday that her comments on Talk TV were “poorly worded and I apologize unreservedly for any offense I caused which was not intended”.
