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Keir Starmer has condemned the shadow justice secretary's remarks about the lack of white faces in parts of Birmingham, stating the MP was difficult to regard credibly.

Leadership Campaign Claims

Starmer suggested that his observations were linked to a stealth Conservative bid for leadership and asserted he did not believe they accurately reflected 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.

The shadow justice secretary has been accused of fuelling a fire of toxic nationalism after he doubled down on his remarks despite criticism from figures including the former Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street.

Local Rejection and Defense

The prime minister, who did not directly engage the comments, said he had agreed with Street's objections of the MP.

• The former mayor had told the media the remarks were incorrect 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.

Kemi Badenoch, defended him, saying he had made a factual statement and that there was nothing wrong with making observations.

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

The shadow chancellor became the initial high-ranking Conservative to distance himself from Jenrick over the comments, informing a Politico fringe event that they were phrases I would have avoided.

The MP repeatedly informed journalists at the event that he supported the remarks and did not resile from them as it would be wrong to shut down an important debate that we have to have as a country about social cohesion.

When a Sky News journalist suggested that his remarks could encourage far-right groups, he said it was an absolutely disgraceful and ridiculous inquiry.

Initial Remarks

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

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.