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Keir Starmer has condemned the shadow justice secretary's remarks about the lack of white faces in areas of Handsworth, stating the MP was hard to take seriously.

Political Ambitions Claims

Starmer suggested that his observations were linked to a covert Tory leadership campaign and said he did not believe they painted a true picture the area 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 criticized for igniting a fire of toxic nationalism after he reiterated his remarks despite criticism from individuals including the ex-Tory mayor of the West Midlands, the former mayor.

Community Response and Defense

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

• The former mayor had told BBC Newsnight the comments were wrong and described Handsworth as a very integrated place.
• In my view, Andy Street's comments were accurate, Starmer said. Having served as mayor for an extended period, Andy Street possesses deep familiarity with the locality.

The Conservative leader, defended him, saying he had made a factual statement and that there was no issue with noting realities.

But she also told BBC Breakfast: In my opinion, the discussion should not focus on the number or appearance of individuals seen on streets.

Party Disagreements

The shadow chancellor became the first senior Tory to distance himself from his colleague over the comments, telling a gathering that they were not words that I would have used.

The MP repeatedly told journalists at the conference that he stood by the remarks and did not retract them as it would be wrong to shut down an important debate that the nation needs to engage in about integration.

When a Sky News journalist suggested that his remarks could encourage extremist organizations, he said it was an absolutely disgraceful and ridiculous inquiry.

Original Remarks

In his original remarks, Jenrick said the area was one of the worst integrated places I’ve ever been to. Specifically, in the hour and a half he was recording in the area 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.