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The Prime Minister has condemned Robert Jenrick's remarks about the lack of white faces in areas of Handsworth, stating the politician was difficult to regard credibly.

Leadership Campaign Accusations

Starmer suggested that his observations were linked to a stealth Conservative leadership campaign and said he did not believe they accurately reflected the neighborhood 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 wave of divisive sentiment after he doubled down on his remarks despite backlash from figures including the former Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street.

Community Response and Defense

The prime minister, who avoided directly addressing the statements, said he had supported Andy Street's criticisms of Jenrick.

• Street had stated to the media the remarks were incorrect 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.

Kemi Badenoch, supported Jenrick, saying he had made a factual statement 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

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

The MP repeatedly informed journalists at the event that he supported the remarks 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 Sky News journalist put it to him that his remarks could encourage far-right groups, he said it was an absolutely disgraceful and ridiculous question.

Original Remarks

In his original remarks, Jenrick said the area was among the least cohesive locations I have visited. In fact, 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.