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The Prime Minister has condemned Robert Jenrick's remarks about not seeing another white face in areas of Handsworth, suggesting the MP was hard to take seriously.

Political Ambitions Accusations

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

Jenrick has been accused of fuelling a wave of divisive sentiment after he reiterated his remarks despite backlash from individuals including the former Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street.

Community Rejection and Defense

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

• Street had stated to BBC Newsnight the comments were incorrect and portrayed the area as a very integrated place.
• I think that what Andy Street said was right, Starmer said. Having served as mayor for an extended period, Andy Street possesses deep familiarity with the locality.

Kemi Badenoch, supported 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 Divisions

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

Jenrick repeatedly informed interviewers at the conference that he stood by 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 embolden extremist organizations, Jenrick said it was an completely unacceptable and absurd inquiry.

Initial Remarks

In his original remarks, Jenrick said the area was one of the worst integrated places I’ve ever been to. Specifically, in the 90 minutes 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.