Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin has faced criticism after making a joke about wearing a 'tartan burqa' during the party's Scottish election campaign launch. The comment was made on Thursday at a country club in Renfrewshire, moments after her autocue malfunctioned.
Pochin, the MP for Runcorn and Helsby, told the conference: 'I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burqa, but apparently I wasn't allowed.' She added: 'One day, let's have one of these events that aren't livestreamed. We'll do all the naughty stuff.'
The remarks have been condemned by other parties. A Labour spokesperson said: 'It took less than 30 seconds for Sarah Pochin to start making jokes about Muslims after her autocue broke. The same Sarah Pochin who said it drives her mad seeing too many Black and Asian people on TV adverts.'
This is not the first time Pochin has sparked controversy over the burqa. In June last year, she used her first Prime Minister's Questions to call for a ban on burqas 'in the interest of public safety'. Reform chair Zia Yusuf branded her question 'dumb' at the time, though he later said he would support a ban on face coverings in public if the party gained power.
The incident follows criticism of Reform's London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham, who said women wearing burqas should be subject to stop and search. Baroness Shaista Gohir, CEO of the Muslim Women's Network UK, described her comments as 'dangerous' and a 'dog whistle' to racists.
