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Keir Starmer has condemned Robert Jenrick's statements about not seeing another white face in parts of Handsworth, stating the politician was hard to take seriously.

Leadership Campaign Claims

Starmer suggested that his observations were linked to a stealth Tory leadership campaign and said he did not believe they painted a true picture the neighborhood of the Birmingham district.

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 remarks despite backlash from individuals including the ex-Tory mayor of the region, Andy Street.

Local Rejection and Defense

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

• The former mayor had stated to the media the remarks were wrong and described Handsworth as a very integrated place.
• In my view, Andy Street's comments were accurate, Starmer said. Andy Street obviously was mayor for a long time and knows the area very very well.

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

However, she added on the program: 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 his colleague over the comments, telling a Politico fringe event that they were not words that I would have used.

Jenrick repeatedly informed interviewers at the event 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 social cohesion.

When a reporter put it to him that his remarks could embolden extremist organizations, Jenrick said it was an absolutely disgraceful and ridiculous question.

Original Statements

In his original remarks, Jenrick said Handsworth was among the least cohesive locations I have visited. Specifically, in the 90 minutes he was recording in the area 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.