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Keir Starmer has condemned Robert Jenrick's remarks about not seeing another white face in areas of Handsworth, stating the politician was difficult to regard credibly.

Political Ambitions Accusations

The prime minister implied that Jenrick's comments were linked to a stealth Conservative bid for leadership and said he did not believe they accurately reflected the area of Handsworth.

It’s quite hard to take anything that Robert Jenrick says seriously; he’s clearly still running his leadership campaign.

Jenrick has been accused of fuelling a wave of divisive sentiment after he doubled down on his complaint despite backlash from individuals including the ex-Tory mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street.

Community Response and Defense

The prime minister, who avoided directly addressing the statements, said he had agreed with Street's objections of the MP.

• Street had stated to the media the remarks were incorrect and portrayed Handsworth as a highly cohesive community.
• In my view, Andy Street's comments were accurate, Starmer said. Having served as mayor for an extended period, Andy Street possesses deep familiarity with the locality.

Kemi Badenoch, defended him, saying he had made a factual statement and that there was nothing wrong with making observations.

However, she added on the program: In my opinion, the discussion should not focus on the number or appearance of individuals seen on streets.

Party Divisions

The shadow chancellor became the initial high-ranking Conservative to disassociate from his colleague over the comments, informing a gathering that they were phrases I would have avoided.

The MP repeatedly told journalists at the conference that he supported the remarks and did not retract them as it would be wrong to shut down an important debate that the nation needs to engage in about social cohesion.

When a reporter put it to him that his remarks could embolden far-right groups, he said it was an completely unacceptable and absurd inquiry.

Original Statements

In his initial comments, Jenrick said the area was one of the worst integrated places I’ve ever been to. Specifically, in the 90 minutes he was recording in the area he didn’t see another white face.

That’s not the kind of country I want to live in. I want to live in a country where people are properly integrated. It’s not about the colour of your skin or your faith – of course it isn’t. But I want people to be living alongside each other, not parallel lives. That’s not the right way we want to live as a country.