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Keir Starmer has criticized Robert Jenrick's remarks about the lack of white faces in areas of Handsworth, stating the MP was hard to take seriously.

Political Ambitions Accusations

Starmer implied that Jenrick's observations were part of a covert Conservative leadership campaign and asserted he did not believe they accurately reflected the area of the Birmingham district.

I find it difficult to regard Robert Jenrick's statements as credible; he's obviously continuing his leadership campaign.

Jenrick has been criticized for igniting a fire of toxic nationalism after he reiterated his remarks despite backlash from figures including the former Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street.

Local Response and Support

Starmer, who avoided directly addressing the statements, said he had agreed with Street's criticisms of the MP.

• Street had told BBC Newsnight the remarks were incorrect and described Handsworth as a highly cohesive community.
• In my view, Andy Street's comments were accurate, the prime minister said. Having served as mayor for an extended period, Andy Street possesses deep familiarity with the locality.

The Conservative leader, defended Jenrick, 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.

Party Disagreements

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

The MP repeatedly informed journalists at the event that he stood by the comments and did not resile from them as it would be wrong to shut down an important debate that the nation needs to engage in about social cohesion.

When a Sky News journalist suggested that his comments could embolden extremist organizations, he said it was an absolutely disgraceful and ridiculous inquiry.

Original Remarks

In his original remarks, Jenrick said the area was one of the worst integrated places I’ve ever been to. Specifically, in the 90 minutes he was filming news there he observed no other white individuals.

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.