A Reform UK MP has defended her decision to help a woman once labelled the UK’s ‘worst benefits cheat’ after posting a video that was later deleted. Sarah Pochin, who won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election last year, shared footage of Ethel McGill, 76, on Wednesday with the caption: “Helping people like Ethel is why I love my job.”
In the video, McGill claimed that within two days of contacting Reform UK, she received the assistance she needed and was eventually moved into an adapted two-bedroom bungalow. However, the clip was removed hours later after LBC revealed McGill’s criminal past. In 2019, McGill was jailed for five years and 10 months for fraud after hiding her father’s death to claim £740,000 in war pension and benefits, and feigning dementia and wheelchair use.
At her sentencing, Judge Steven Everett described her actions as “breathtaking dishonesty” and said she had “sullied” her father’s name. Pochin responded in a statement on X, saying: “As an MP, I have to take people at face value. My office does not run background checks on constituents who come to us asking for support. The issues my office assisted with were entirely unrelated to that offence.”
She added: “Reform UK stands firmly against benefit fraud and abuse of the system. But a responsible MP must deal with each case on its merits and support constituents who ask for help.” Pochin told LBC she tries to be a “hard working local MP” and that her “default is to trust constituents who ask for help.”
The controversy comes as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has pledged the largest benefits bill cut in UK history if his party wins the next general election. In April, Farage said he would keep the triple lock for state pensions and fund it with “the biggest cuts to the benefits bill ever seen in this country.”
