Why Reform’s Sarah Pochin is fighting for ‘indigenous white women’ in this tiny Oxford village
Reform MP Sarah Pochin has suggested far-right protesters “wouldn’t be unwelcome” in the village of Piddington. Locals don’t want a migrant centre on their doorstep, but will masked vigilantes help their cause?
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What’s the story?
Reform heard the words ‘migrant’ and an MP came running.
Sarah Pochin, MP for Runcorn, has joined the campaign of a tiny village in Oxfordshire with a population of 328, which is furious about a proposed migrant centre being placed on its doorstep.
Around 130 women from the village have written an open letter saying they don't want the centre close to the nearby town of Bicester. The village intends to hold a referendum to 'leave' the UK in protest.
Pochin, who has previously spoken about her anger at not seeing white people in TV adverts and planned to wear a ‘Reform tartan burqa’ to a party event in Scotland, has backed their calls.
She has suggested that far-right vigilante leader Daniel Thomas (Danny Tommo to his followers) “wouldn’t be unwelcome” in Piddington. He has previously suggested his group, Patriot Platform, take action in the village.
Patriot Platform was responsible for recent protests in Portsmouth and Dover, where masked men blocked roads in an attempt to stop migrants arriving on UK shores.
“The residents of this village have been saying for weeks that they're not racist, but they're not feeling safe,” says Emily Maitlis.
Pochin, Maitlis says, believes the solution to their problem is the support of Tommo’s group Patriot Platform and Reform UK.
“You've got an elected MP, Sarah Pochin, essentially telling the hard right that Piddington is waiting for them,” says Jon Sopel.
“Maybe we should leave it to the police and the forces of law and order in this country to retain order in this country.”
Danny Tommo recently said his group is becoming so powerful he could amass between 5-10,000 far-right activists in a matter of hours.
"Is the suggestion that Reform is now welcoming them, or is Pochin off on her own little weird tandem?" Maitlis asks.
How Sarah Pochin’s Piddington claims are fuelling a moral panic
In a radio interview, Pochin said it was essential to protect "indigenous white women" who are unable to walk their dogs because of migrants.
“It's easy to be swept up in a moral panic, which says that asylum seekers are overwhelmingly criminal – but there are no statistics that back that up,” says Jon.
The UK does not record criminal offences by immigration status.
Crimes have been committed by migrants, such as the highly publicised case of sexual assault by a man living at the Bell Hotel in Essex, London.
“There is moral panic when one of these cases comes to the fore because they are splashed all over certain tabloid newspapers,” Jon adds.
“Of course, it's horrible, but all those crimes are horrible and grotesque.
“But when someone who is British has carried out that sort of crime, it doesn't get the same degree of attention.”
‘Danny Tommo’ and his so-called concern for British women and girls
Daniel Thomas has a conviction for attempted kidnap at knifepoint, is a former bodyguard for Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (Tommy Robinson) and has been involved in several recent anti-migrant riots and protests in the UK.
He recently filmed himself harassing passerby during an anti-migrant protest, claiming that if he didn't support Patriot Platform's vigilante actions, he was calling the "grandmothers" in the crowd of balaclava-clad men racist.
"He is trying to create the sense that he cares about women, he cares about the elderly, he cares about young girls," says Maitlis.
"For fuck's sake, give me a break. He probably cares about intimidating members of the public and making cash. That's what's going on here."
The support of such a man, and his many masked followers, is not what a quiet Oxfordshire village needs.
"The idea that the people of Piddington are going to be served by having 5,000 people like that turn up on their doorstep is deeply uncomfortable for the villagers.
"They are now the victims and find themselves the meat in the sandwich of a culture war."
Would the far-right help the people of Piddington?
There’s only one thing that fuels moral panic and culture wars faster than attention seeking far-right activists, and that’s disinformation.
In this, Maitlis says, Daniel ’Tommo’ Thomas and Sarah Pochin have something in common.
“If you want to get to the facts you have to work much harder than if you just open Twitter and get a splurge of hate-filled vomit in your face,” she says.
“If you just want a Rupert Lowe or Sarah Pochin version of events, you can just open their social media and see this bile of how much crime comes from the migrant community towards 'indigenous white women' out walking their dogs.”
She says that while it would certainly be a "shock to the system" for a village to have its population grow by 400% overnight, the involvement of the far right helps no one in Pidlington.
“I don't think it's particularly helpful to have Tommo and Pochin arriving and saying,: 'Don't worry, we will save your pearly white skins'."