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Keir Starmer has criticized the shadow justice secretary's statements about the lack of white faces in parts of Birmingham, suggesting the MP was hard to take seriously.

Leadership Campaign Accusations

Starmer implied that Jenrick's comments were linked to a covert Conservative bid for leadership and asserted 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 Support

The prime minister, who did not directly engage the comments, said he had agreed with Andy Street's criticisms of the MP.

• The former mayor had stated to BBC Newsnight the remarks were incorrect and described the area as a very integrated place.
• I think that what Andy Street said was right, the prime minister said. Andy Street obviously was mayor for a long time and knows the area very very well.

The Conservative leader, defended him, saying he had made a truthful observation and that there was nothing wrong with making observations.

But she also told 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.

Party Disagreements

The shadow chancellor became the initial high-ranking Conservative to distance himself from his colleague over the comments, informing a gathering that they were not words that I would have used.

Jenrick repeatedly informed 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 the nation needs to engage in about social cohesion.

When a reporter put it to him that his comments could encourage far-right groups, Jenrick said it was an absolutely disgraceful and ridiculous question.

Original Remarks

In his initial comments, Jenrick said the area was one of the worst integrated places I’ve ever been to. In fact, in the hour and a half he was filming news there he didn’t see another white face.

This is not the nation I desire to reside in. I prefer a country with proper integration. Skin color or religion is not the issue—naturally not. However, I advocate for people coexisting together, not leading separate existences. That is not the ideal lifestyle for our country.