Elham Asaad Buaras
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick is facing widespread criticism after describing a Birmingham neighbourhood as “as close as I’ve come to a slum in this country” and noting that he “didn’t see another white face” during his visit. The comments, described by unions and political figures as racist, were made at a Conservative Association dinner in March and surfaced this week. The backlash has grown following Jenrick’s appearance at a court hearing in support of a man who burned a copy of the Qur’an.
The remarks were captured at a dinner hosted by the Aldridge-Brownhills Conservative Association on March 14 and published on October 7.
They came after Jenrick visited the Handsworth area for a GB News segment about litter. He said, “I went to Handsworth in Birmingham the other day… it was 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.”
Jenrick later claimed his comments were about integration, not race or religion, saying he wanted communities “living alongside each other, not parallel lives.”
The suggestion that integration can be measured by the presence or absence of white residents was met with immediate criticism. The Trades Union Congress (TUC), alongside 11 unions including Unite, GMB Midlands, and NASUWT, signed a joint letter condemning the remarks as “racism” and calling on the Conservative Party to remove the whip from Jenrick.
The letter accused him of echoing “far-right talking points,” stating, “To reduce this thriving community to the absence of ‘white faces’ is offensive and dangerous.”
Local politicians also responded sharply. Former Labour MP for the area, Khalid Mahmood, accused Jenrick of “stoking divisions” and said it was impossible to assess integration based on a short visit. Independent MP Ayoub Khan went further, claiming Jenrick had “distorted the impact of an all-out bin strike to fit a culture-war narrative filled with far-right clichés.” He argued that the litter Jenrick highlighted was a result of “14 years of austerity under the Tory governments he loyally served,” not a failure of multiculturalism.
The row deepened on October 10 when Jenrick attended the appeal hearing of Hamit Coskun, who had been fined for a religiously aggravated public order offence after burning a Qur’an. The court overturned Coskun’s conviction, citing his “right to offend.” Speaking afterward, Jenrick said he did not support burning the Qur’an but argued the act should not be criminalised, likening the case to a reintroduction of “blasphemy by the back door.”
Critics quickly linked Jenrick’s courtroom appearance to his earlier remarks about Handsworth. Labour MP Naz Shah posted on social media, “And there’s me thinking he’s pitching to be the leader of the Conservatives, not the actual BNP.”
Jenrick has refused to apologise, telling BBC Radio 5 Live he had “no regrets” and denying that his comments were racist.
He defended his focus on ethnic makeup as “incredibly important” and, in an interview with Sky News, tied the issue to national security, referencing a recent terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch defended Jenrick, dismissing claims of racism and telling the BBC, “If he said he didn’t see another white face, he might have been seeing. There’s nothing wrong with making observations.” She also criticised political attention on “airports in Pakistan and Gaza” while “rubbish piled up in the streets.”
But the defence didn’t sit well with all Conservatives. Andy Street, the former Tory mayor of the West Midlands, publicly disagreed, saying, “Putting it bluntly, Robert is wrong,” and described Handsworth as “actually a very integrated place.”
Labour Party Chair Anneliese Dodds also weighed in, urging Badenoch to explain how Jenrick’s comments aligned with her own recent speech denouncing divisive rhetoric. She said the remarks “clearly cross a red line.”
Unions continue to call for Jenrick to have the whip suspended, accusing the Conservative Party of failing to challenge what they describe as “racist narratives” within its ranks.
Photo: Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick is facing widespread criticism after complaining he “didn’t see another white face” in a Birmingham neighbourhood. The backlash has grown following Jenrick’s appearance at a court hearing in support of a man who burned a copy of the Qur’an. (Credit: Parliament UK)
