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Keir Starmer has condemned Robert Jenrick's statements about not seeing another white face in areas of Birmingham, stating the politician was difficult to regard credibly.

Political Ambitions Claims

Starmer implied that Jenrick's comments were part of a covert Conservative bid for leadership and asserted he did not believe they painted a true picture the neighborhood of Handsworth.

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 criticized for igniting a fire of toxic nationalism after he doubled down on his complaint despite backlash from figures including the former Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street.

Local Rejection and Support

The prime minister, who avoided directly addressing the statements, said he had agreed with Street's objections of the MP.

• Street had told BBC Newsnight the comments were incorrect and described the area as a very integrated place.
• 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 Jenrick, saying he had made a factual statement and that there was no issue with noting realities.

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.

Party Divisions

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

Jenrick repeatedly informed interviewers at the event that he stood by the comments and did not resile from them as it would be wrong to end a crucial discussion that the nation needs to engage in about integration.

When a reporter suggested that his remarks could embolden far-right groups, he said it was an completely unacceptable and absurd question.

Initial Statements

In his original remarks, Jenrick said Handsworth 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.