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Keir Starmer has condemned the shadow justice secretary's statements about the lack of white faces in parts of Handsworth, suggesting the politician was hard to take seriously.

Leadership Campaign Claims

The prime minister implied that Jenrick's comments were part of a covert Conservative bid for leadership and said 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 individuals including the ex-Tory mayor of the West Midlands, the former mayor.

Local Response and Support

The prime minister, who did not directly engage the statements, said he had supported Andy Street's criticisms of Jenrick.

• The former mayor had told BBC Newsnight the remarks were wrong and described the area as a very integrated place.
• In my view, Andy Street's comments were accurate, the prime minister said. Andy Street obviously was mayor for a long time and knows the area very very well.

The Conservative leader, defended Jenrick, saying he had made a factual statement 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.

Internal Divisions

The shadow chancellor became the first senior Tory to distance himself 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 comments 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 integration.

When a reporter suggested that his remarks could encourage extremist organizations, Jenrick said it was an completely unacceptable and absurd question.

Initial Statements

In his initial comments, Jenrick said Handsworth was among the least cohesive locations I have visited. Specifically, in the hour and a half he was filming news there 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.