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The Prime Minister has condemned the shadow justice secretary's statements about the lack of white faces in areas of Handsworth, suggesting the MP was difficult to regard credibly.

Leadership Campaign Claims

The prime minister suggested that his observations were linked to a covert Tory bid for leadership and asserted he did not believe they accurately reflected the neighborhood of Handsworth.

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 accused of fuelling a wave of divisive sentiment after he reiterated his complaint despite criticism from figures including the former Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, the former mayor.

Community Response and Support

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

• Street had stated to the media the comments were incorrect and described Handsworth as a very integrated place.
• I think that what Andy Street said was right, Starmer said. Andy Street obviously was mayor for a long time and knows the area very very well.

Kemi Badenoch, defended him, saying he had made a truthful observation and that there was no issue with noting realities.

However, she added on the program: In my opinion, the discussion should not focus on the number or appearance of individuals seen on streets.

Internal Disagreements

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

Jenrick repeatedly told journalists at the conference that he supported 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 integration.

When a reporter put it to him that his remarks could embolden extremist organizations, he said it was an absolutely disgraceful and ridiculous question.

Original Statements

In his original remarks, Jenrick said the area was among the least cohesive locations I have visited. Specifically, in the 90 minutes 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.