Jenrick Faces Backlash Over Leaked Handsworth Remarks

Leaked audio published by The Guardian captures shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick saying he “didn’t see another white face” during a 90-minute visit to Handsworth, Birmingham while filming a video about litter, and adding “that’s not the kind of country I want to live in.” Jenrick told a Conservative Association dinner on March 14 that the area was “one of the worst integrated places” he had seen and described it as “close to a slum,” saying his concern was about integration and citing government warnings about “parallel communities.” Conservative sources have not disputed the recording. The remarks drew sharp criticism from Labour chair Anna Turley, Handsworth MP Ayoub Khan and former MP Khalid Mahmood, who accused him of reducing people to skin colour and stoking divisions. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch defended Jenrick at conference, saying his comments were observations taken out of context. The episode has intensified political debate over immigration and integration ahead of the Tory conference and prompted wide media scrutiny.