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The Prime Minister has condemned the shadow justice secretary's statements about not seeing another white face in areas of Birmingham, stating the MP was difficult to regard credibly.

Political Ambitions Accusations

The prime minister implied that Jenrick's comments were part of a covert Conservative leadership campaign and said he did not believe they accurately reflected the area of Handsworth.

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

Jenrick has been criticized for igniting a wave of divisive sentiment after he doubled down on his remarks despite criticism from individuals including the ex-Tory mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street.

Community Rejection and Support

The prime minister, who did not directly engage the comments, said he had supported Andy Street's criticisms of Jenrick.

• Street had stated to BBC Newsnight the remarks were wrong and portrayed Handsworth as a very integrated place.
• I think that what Andy Street said was right, the prime minister 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 truthful observation and that there was nothing wrong with making observations.

But she also told the program: 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 distance himself from his colleague 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 event that he stood by the comments 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 put it to him that his remarks could embolden far-right groups, Jenrick said it was an absolutely disgraceful and ridiculous question.

Initial Remarks

In his original remarks, the MP said the area was among the least cohesive locations I have visited. 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.