ROBERT Jenrick should stop lecturing the public on integration, Sir Keir Starmer has blasted.
The PM hit out at the Shadow Justice Secretary after he claimed he “didn’t see another white face” during a visit to Birmingham.
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Sir Keir slammed the comment on Thursday night, saying “it’s quite hard to take anything that Robert Jenrick says seriously.”
He accused the senior Tory of “running a leadership campaign” instead of making serious political arguments.
Speaking on a flight to Mumbai, where he will meet Indian President Narendra Modi, Sir Keir said: “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.”
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The row erupted after senior Conservatives rallied behind Mr Jenrick’s claim that Britain must confront “ghettoised communities” and a “dangerous” lack of social cohesion.
Labour figures branded the comments “racist”, but Tory leader Kemi Badenoch defended her colleague, saying there was “nothing wrong with making observations.”
Shadow Cabinet Minister Claire Coutinho also backed him, saying: “If you walk through an area and don’t see a single white face, it is a sign that integration has failed.”
The controversy broke out during the Tory party conference in Manchester after The Guardian obtained a secret recording of Mr Jenrick describing a 90-minute visit to Handsworth earlier this year.
He told members at an Aldridge-Brownhills dinner: “I went to Handsworth in Birmingham the other day to do a video on Twitter and it was absolutely appalling.
“It’s as close as I’ve come to a slum in this country.
“But the other thing I noticed there was that it was one of the worst integrated places I’ve ever been to.
“In fact, in the hour and a half I was filming news there I didn’t see another white face.”
Just nine per cent of Handsworth’s population is white, with most residents of Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi heritage, official data shows.
Asked if he regretted his comments, Mr Jenrick told the BBC: “No, not at all and I won’t shy away from these issues.”
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He said he mentioned 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 also linked the terror attack in north Manchester last week to a lack of integration.
Ms Badenoch again backed her shadow minister, saying she would take The Guardian report “with a pinch of salt.”
The Tory leader said: “What he and I both agree with is that there are not enough people integrating.
“There are many people who are creating separate communities.”
Labour last night pounced on the remarks, saying Mr Jenrick had “crossed a red line.”