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The Prime Minister has condemned Robert Jenrick's statements about not seeing another white face in parts of Birmingham, suggesting the politician was hard to take seriously.

Leadership Campaign Accusations

The prime minister suggested that Jenrick's observations were linked to a covert Tory bid for leadership and said he did not believe they accurately reflected the neighborhood 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 accused of fuelling a fire of toxic nationalism after he doubled down on his complaint despite backlash from figures including the former Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street.

Local Response and Support

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

• Street had told the media the remarks were wrong and portrayed the area as a very integrated place.
• I think that what Andy Street said was right, the prime minister said. Andy Street obviously was mayor for a long time and knows the area very very well.

The Conservative leader, supported Jenrick, saying he had made a factual statement and that there was nothing wrong with making observations.

But she also told BBC Breakfast: 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 first senior Tory to disassociate from Jenrick over the statements, 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 comments and did not resile from 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 comments could encourage extremist organizations, Jenrick said it was an completely unacceptable and absurd question.

Original Statements

In his initial comments, the MP said the area was among the least cohesive locations I have visited. Specifically, in the 90 minutes he was filming news there he observed no other white individuals.

This is not the nation I desire to reside in. I prefer a country with proper integration. Skin color or religion is not the issue—naturally not. However, I advocate for people coexisting together, not leading separate existences. That is not the ideal lifestyle for our country.