Starmer Criticizes Jenrick's Birmingham Comments as Hard to Take Seriously.

The Prime Minister has condemned the shadow justice secretary's remarks about the lack of white faces in parts of Handsworth, suggesting the MP was difficult to regard credibly.

Political Ambitions Accusations

Starmer suggested that his observations were linked to a covert Tory bid for leadership and said he did not believe they accurately reflected the neighborhood of Handsworth.

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 doubled down on his complaint despite criticism from figures including the ex-Tory mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street.

Community Response and Support

Starmer, who did not directly engage the comments, said he had agreed with Andy Street's criticisms of the MP.

• The former mayor had stated to the media the comments were wrong and described Handsworth as a highly cohesive community.
• I think that what Andy Street said was right, the prime minister said. Andy Street obviously was mayor for a long time and knows the area very very well.

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

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

Mel Stride became the initial high-ranking Conservative to disassociate from Jenrick over the statements, telling a gathering that they were not words that I would have used.

The MP repeatedly told interviewers at the conference 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 integration.

When a reporter suggested that his remarks could embolden far-right groups, he said it was an absolutely disgraceful and ridiculous question.

Original Remarks

In his initial comments, the MP said Handsworth was one of the worst integrated places I’ve ever been to. Specifically, in the hour and a half 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.