Keir Starmer Dismisses Jenrick's Handsworth Remarks as Difficult to Accept.

The Prime Minister has condemned the shadow justice secretary's statements about the lack of white faces in areas of Birmingham, suggesting the politician was hard to take seriously.

Leadership Campaign Accusations

Starmer implied that his observations were part of a covert Conservative bid for leadership and asserted he did not believe they painted a true picture the area of the Birmingham district.

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

The shadow justice secretary has been accused of fuelling a fire of toxic nationalism after he reiterated his remarks despite backlash from individuals including the former Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street.

Community Response and Support

Starmer, who did not directly engage the statements, said he had agreed with Street's objections of the MP.

• The former mayor had stated to BBC Newsnight the remarks were wrong and described the area as a very integrated place.
• 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, supported Jenrick, saying he had made a truthful observation and that there was nothing wrong with making observations.

However, she added on BBC Breakfast: I don’t think this is where the debate should be, about how many faces people see on the street and what they look like.

Internal Disagreements

Mel Stride became the initial high-ranking Conservative to disassociate from Jenrick over the comments, informing a gathering that they were not words that I would have used.

The MP repeatedly told interviewers at the conference that he stood by the comments and did not retract them as it would be wrong to end a crucial discussion that we have to have as a country about integration.

When a Sky News journalist suggested that his comments could embolden far-right groups, he said it was an absolutely disgraceful and ridiculous inquiry.

Original Remarks

In his initial comments, Jenrick said the area was among the least cohesive locations I have visited. In fact, in the hour and a half he was filming news there 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.