6 days ago
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Robert Jenrick should apologise for his "disgraceful comments" bemoaning the deficiency of disposable achromatic faces successful a portion of Birmingham, the Mayor of the West Midlands has said.
Richard Parker told Sky News' UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee that helium was "shocked and genuinely appalled" by what the shadiness justness caput said astir integration successful Handsworth.
In a signaling from March obtained by The Guardian, Mr Jenrick said that the inner-city country "was 1 of the worst integrated places I've ever been to" and that "in the hr and a fractional I was filming quality determination I didn't spot different achromatic face".
Mr Parker, a Labour mayor, told Sky News: "I thought they were disgraceful comments.
"They're truly damaging comments about, you know, 1 of the large communities successful Birmingham, successful Handsworth, a assemblage that is vibrant, is precise welcoming, precise hospitable and afloat of generosity."
Mr Jenrick doubled down connected his comments connected Tuesday, saying helium would not "shy away" from issues of integration.
But Mr Parker said it was not an close reflection of Handsworth arsenic helium called connected the elder Tory MP and Conservative person Kemi Badenoch to apologise.
He said: "I'm shocked and genuinely appalled. He doesn't cognize Handsworth. If helium wanted to cognize Handsworth, helium could person reached retired to me, and I could person shown him astir and introduced him to the radical there, the large radical that tally businesses I cognize there, and immoderate of the large assemblage groups I cognize there."
He added: "He utilized the colour of people's skins to marque truly divisive and antagonistic comments astir Handsworth and it's wrong, and it's besides incorrect that a politician, a elder person of a mainstream party, makes comments similar this and past reiterates them, with nary apology. I judge Robert Jenrick, and the person of the Conservative Party, beryllium the radical of Birmingham and the radical successful the communities of Handsworth an apology."
Mr Jenrick was successful Handsworth to movie a video astir litter and alert tipping for GB News. His words were recorded during a meal astatine the Aldridge-Brownhills Conservative Association meal connected 14 March, The Guardian said.
According to the paper, helium called the litter "appalling" and said Handsworth was "as arsenic adjacent arsenic I've travel to a slum successful this country".
He added: "The different happening I noticed determination was that it was 1 of the worst integrated places I've ever been to. In fact, successful the hr and a fractional I was filming quality there, I didn't spot different achromatic face.
"That's not the benignant of state I privation to unrecorded in. I privation to unrecorded successful a state wherever radical are decently integrated. It's not astir the colour of your tegument oregon your faith, of people it isn't. But I privation radical to beryllium surviving alongside each other, not parallel lives. That's not the close mode we privation to unrecorded arsenic a country."
The comments person besides been criticised by the Bishop of Birmingham, the Right Reverend Michael Volland.
In a missive to Mr Jenrick published connected Tuesday and co-signed by a fig of assemblage leaders, helium said the comments "can provender into a harmful communicative that provides substance for a occurrence of toxic nationalism".
Former Tory politician Andy Street has besides said Mr Jenrick was "wrong" astir Handsworth, portion the Labour Party said his comments "cross a reddish line".
However, Mr Jenrick stood by what helium said connected Tuesday, telling the Telegraph's Daily T podcast "I didn't spot a premix of radical connected the streets. It was an observation".
Asked if helium had immoderate regrets astir his comments, helium earlier told BBC Radio 5 Live: "No, not astatine each and I won't shy distant from these issues."
Ms Badenoch besides defended her shadiness minister, telling BBC Breakfast helium had made a "factual statement".
She said: "If helium said helium didn't spot different achromatic face, helium mightiness person been making an observation. There's thing incorrect with making observations.
"But what helium and I some hold with is that determination are not capable radical integrating. There are galore radical who are creating abstracted communities."
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