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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 politician was hard to take seriously.

Political Ambitions Claims

The prime minister implied that his comments were part of a stealth Tory leadership campaign and said he did not believe they painted a true picture the area of the Birmingham district.

I find it difficult to regard Robert Jenrick's statements as credible; he's obviously continuing his leadership campaign.

The shadow justice secretary has been criticized for igniting a wave of divisive sentiment after he doubled down on his complaint despite backlash from figures including the ex-Tory mayor of the West Midlands, the former mayor.

Local Response and Defense

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

• Street had stated to the media the remarks were wrong and portrayed the area as a highly cohesive community.
• In my view, Andy Street's comments were accurate, the prime minister said. Having served as mayor for an extended period, Andy Street possesses deep familiarity with the locality.

Kemi Badenoch, defended Jenrick, saying he had made a truthful observation and that there was nothing wrong with making observations.

But she also told 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

The shadow chancellor became the first senior Tory to disassociate from Jenrick over the statements, informing a gathering that they were phrases I would have avoided.

Jenrick repeatedly informed interviewers at the event that he stood by the remarks and did not retract 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 reporter suggested that his remarks could encourage extremist organizations, he said it was an completely unacceptable and absurd question.

Original Statements

In his original remarks, the MP 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.

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.