Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has defended Robert Jenrick after the shadow justice secretary faced criticism for saying he did not see “another white face” in a part of Birmingham. Describing the comments as a “factual statement,” Badenoch argued there was “nothing wrong with making observations” but added that the debate should not focus on what people look like in the streets.
Jenrick made the remarks at a dinner in March, later reported by the Guardian. He described Handsworth as “as close as I’ve come to a slum in this country” and said it was one of the worst integrated places he had visited. The former Tory West Midlands mayor, Andy Street, countered that Handsworth was actually very well integrated, with a mix of ethnic groups living alongside each other. “Robert is wrong,” Street told the BBC’s Newsnight.
Labour’s Richard Parker, the current West Midlands mayor, went further, accusing Jenrick of racism and questioning his fitness to be an MP. “Handsworth is a really vibrant community with lots of faiths and ethnicities working together,” Parker said, calling on Badenoch to discuss Jenrick’s position in the party.
Jenrick later defended his comments, referencing six government reports on parallel communities and insisting he would not shy away from the issue. He told Sky News he disagreed with Street and stood by his remarks, saying he wants to see integrated communities, not segregated or ghettoised ones. Badenoch, speaking ahead of her Conservative conference speech, cast doubt on the Guardian’s reporting despite the recording being published, adding she had not listened to it herself.
