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The Prime Minister has criticized the shadow justice secretary's statements about not seeing another white face in areas of Handsworth, suggesting the MP was hard to take seriously.

Leadership Campaign Accusations

The prime minister implied that Jenrick's comments were linked to a stealth Conservative leadership campaign and asserted he did not believe they painted a true picture the area of Handsworth.

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 doubled down on his remarks despite backlash from individuals including the former Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street.

Local Rejection and Defense

Starmer, who did not directly engage the comments, said he had supported Street's objections of the MP.

• Street had stated to the media the comments were incorrect and described the area as a highly cohesive community.
• I think that what Andy Street said was right, Starmer said. Having served as mayor for an extended period, Andy Street possesses deep familiarity with the locality.

Kemi Badenoch, supported him, saying he had made a truthful observation and that there was no issue with noting realities.

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

Internal Disagreements

Mel Stride became the initial high-ranking Conservative to disassociate from Jenrick over the comments, telling a gathering that they were phrases I would have avoided.

Jenrick repeatedly informed interviewers at the event that he stood by the remarks and did not retract them as it would be wrong to shut down an important debate that we have to have as a country about integration.

When a Sky News journalist put it to him that his comments could embolden extremist organizations, Jenrick said it was an absolutely disgraceful and ridiculous inquiry.

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 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.