Streeting condemns Farage’s ‘deafening silence’ over ‘racist’ remarks from Reform MP
Wes Streeting has claimed Nigel Farage’s “deafening silence” over comments from fellow Reform MP Sarah Pochin shows he agrees with her.
Following Ms Pochin’s statement, the health minister went on a furious rampage. talk tv “Seeing ads full of black and Asian people drives me crazy.”
Ms Pochin later apologized but Mr Streeting claimed: “He is only sorry for being called out and saying it in a low voice, a bit loud.” He added: “The only way we can defeat this racism is by calling it out and confronting it for what it is.” Ms Pochin apologized for those remarks.
Chris Philp, the Conservative home secretary, refused to describe Ms Pochin as a racist three times when pressed about the issue on the BBC. This follows controversial comments by his colleague Katie Lam, who suggested legal immigrants should be deported.
Addressing the issue with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Streeting said he spoke to young boys at one of his Ilford North constituency schools on Friday, the day before the interview, about their experiences of racism in London, “one of the most diverse cities in the world”.
“What they’re telling us and what we’ve seen on our streets for weeks, last weeks, months is a return of the 1970s-1980s style racism that I think we left in our history.”
Since the Labor Party conference in September the party leadership has been openly attacking Mr Farage and Reform. The strategy is still not working in the polls, with Reform having a 10 point lead over Labor in the latest Techne UK poll for The Independent.
But Mr Streeting warned: “”I guess what happened? [Pochin] He said it was embarrassing. I think he was racist and the party leader’s deafening silence [Farage] says it all. “Reform is a party that thinks our flag belongs only to some of us who look like me, not to everyone who built this country and built success.”
As Remembrance Day approached, Mr Streeting recalled memories of the Second World War, noting: “The people who shed blood and died for our democracy and our freedom were not just my grandfather and great-grandfather who looked like me and worshiped the same God as me. They were people from across the Empire then, now the Commonwealth, Muslim people, Sikh people, Hindu people, people who looked different from you and me.”
“And we must remember that, and defend it, and fight for what this country stands for; a dignified, respectful and inclusive democracy, the most successful multi-faith democracy in the world. We advocate not Reformation, and that’s why.”
Independent He sought comment from Reform.
But Mr Farage’s close ally, millionaire Arron Banks, who is a Reform mayoral candidate in Bristol, claimed Ms Pochin should not have apologized.
Copying Ms Pochin’s apology, Mr Banks wrote to X: “I see nothing to apologize for.”
Speaking to Sir Trevor Phillips on Sky News, Zia Yusuf, a member of the Reform leadership, defended Ms Pochin.
He said: “He didn’t say those words and he apologized saying it was a poorly worded thing, but you have to put it in context. The caller, a gentleman called Stuart, called and I think he was right to be upset about the gross under-representation of some groups and the over-representation of others in television advertising, and we need to be able to talk about those things.”
Even as Ms. Pochin apologized, she tried to justify her words.
He said: “The comments I made earlier when I phoned in to Talk TV were poorly worded and were not my intention, and I apologize unreservedly for any offense I have caused.
“The point I wanted to make was that many British TV adverts have driven DEI crazy and are no longer representative of British society as a whole. This is not an attack on any group, but an observation of balance and fairness in how our country is portrayed on screen.”
Speaking earlier to Sir Trevor Phillips on Sky News, Mr Streeting also directed his anger at junior doctors and the British Medical Association (BMA), who are about to go on strike again over demands for a 29 per cent pay rise.
He accused the BMA of being “a bit stubborn” when criticizing the pace at which the government was reducing waiting lists on the NHS.
Mr Streeting warned that their planned strike was “harming patients and the NHS recovery” as well as costing the health service £250 million.
He said: “The BMA never talks about waiting lists. They do everything they can to prevent us from progressing with unnecessary and unreasonable strike action.”
