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The Prime Minister has criticized Robert Jenrick's remarks about the lack of white faces in areas of Birmingham, suggesting the MP was hard to take seriously.

Political Ambitions Accusations

Starmer suggested 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 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 fire of toxic nationalism after he doubled down on his remarks despite backlash from individuals including the former Conservative mayor of the region, Andy Street.

Community Rejection and Defense

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

• The former mayor had stated to the media the remarks were wrong and described the area 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.

The Conservative leader, supported him, 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 Divisions

Mel Stride became the first senior Tory to disassociate from Jenrick over the comments, telling a Politico fringe event that they were not words that I would have used.

The MP repeatedly told interviewers at the conference that he supported the remarks and did not retract them as it would be wrong to end a crucial discussion that the nation needs to engage in about integration.

When a reporter put it to him that his remarks could encourage extremist organizations, he said it was an completely unacceptable and absurd question.

Initial Statements

In his original remarks, the MP said the area was one of the worst integrated places I’ve ever been to. In fact, 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.