Overview

• Leaked audio from a March 14 Conservative Association dinner captures Robert Jenrick describing Handsworth as poorly integrated, saying he “didn’t see another white face” during a 90-minute visit and calling it close to a slum.
• Jenrick declined to apologise and said he won’t shy away from discussing integration, citing government reports on “parallel communities” and later linking last week’s Manchester terror attack to failures of integration.
• Kemi Badenoch defended him, saying the recording could be out of context and that there is nothing wrong with making observations, rejecting accusations that the comment was racist.
• Community and political leaders including MP Ayoub Khan, West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker, and Birmingham council leader John Cotton condemned the remarks, while former Tory mayor Andy Street said Jenrick was wrong and that Handsworth is integrated.
• Official data shows Handsworth’s population is about 9% white with large Pakistani, Indian and Black communities, and local figures attribute the street scenes Jenrick referenced to factors such as a bin strike, high numbers of HMOs, and long-term austerity.