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Keir Starmer has criticized Robert Jenrick's statements about not seeing another white face in areas of Handsworth, suggesting the MP was hard to take seriously.

Political Ambitions Claims

The prime minister implied that his observations were part of a covert Tory leadership campaign and asserted 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 fire of toxic nationalism after he reiterated his complaint despite backlash from figures including the ex-Tory mayor of the region, Andy Street.

Local Rejection and Defense

Starmer, who avoided directly addressing the comments, said he had supported Andy Street's objections of Jenrick.

• Street had stated to BBC Newsnight the remarks were incorrect and portrayed Handsworth as a very integrated place.
• I think that what Andy Street said was right, the prime minister said. Having served as mayor for an extended period, Andy Street possesses deep familiarity with the locality.

The Conservative leader, defended him, saying he had made a truthful observation and that there was no issue with noting realities.

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

The shadow chancellor became the initial high-ranking Conservative to disassociate from Jenrick over the statements, telling a gathering that they were phrases I would have avoided.

The MP repeatedly told journalists at the event that he supported 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 suggested that his comments could encourage far-right groups, he said it was an absolutely disgraceful and ridiculous inquiry.

Initial Statements

In his original remarks, Jenrick said Handsworth 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.

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.