Mr Jenrick, who lost out on becoming Conservative leader to Kemi Badenoch last year, is facing criticism for his complaint that he ‘didn’t see another white face’ on a trip to Birmingham
Keir Starmer has mocked Robert Jenrick saying the under-fire top Tory is “clearly still running his leadership campaign”.
Mr Jenrick, who lost out on becoming Conservative leader to Kemi Badenoch last year, faces criticism for his complaint that he “didn’t see another white face” on a trip to Birmingham.
The Shadow Justice Secretary reportedly said it was not the kind of country he wanted to live in during a visit to the Handsworth area earlier this year.
After mentioning the lack of white people, he then went on to say it was not about “the colour of your skin or your faith” – and he wanted people to live alongside each other.
Faith leaders said Mr Jenrick’s comments could “generate anxiety and stir up division”.
Former Tory mayor Andy Street also said he was “wrong” about Handsworth, while the Labour Party said his comments “cross a red line”.
Asked about the comments, Mr Starmer told reporters: “It’s quite hard to take anything that Robert Jenrick says seriously – he’s clearly still running his leadership campaign.
“I think that what Andy Street said was right. Andy Street obviously was mayor for a long time and knows the area very very well.
“We’re working hard on questions of integration but we need no lessons or lectures from Robert Jenrick on any of this. He’s clearly just engaging in a leadership campaign.”
Mr Street, the Conservative former mayor of the West Midlands, said Mr Jenrick was “wrong” in his comments about Handsworth.
He told BBC Newsnight on Monday: “Putting it bluntly, Robert is wrong. It’s a place I know very well, Handsworth, it’s come a hell of a long way in the 40 years since the last civil disturbances there and it’s actually a very integrated place.”
But asked if he had any regrets about his comments, Mr Jenrick told BBC Radio 5 Live on Tuesday: “No, not at all and I won’t shy away from these issues.”
He said he had brought up skin colour “because it’s incredibly important that we have a fully integrated society regardless of the colour of their skin or the faith that they abide by”.
He added: “I think it’s a very dangerous place if we have a country where people are living in ghettoised communities where people are not living together side by side in harmonious communities… we’ve seen the damage that that can do in society so it’s incredibly important that we resolve this.”
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