Race row deepens as Jenrick defends ‘white faces’ attack

Senior Tory Robert Jenrick has been accused of stirring up division as he defended comments about not seeing “another white face” while visiting an area of Birmingham, insisting it “did look like a slum”.

- ARCHIE MITCHELL DAVID MADDOX

In a race row that overshadowed his Tory conference speech - in which he attacked judges, accusing them of “fighting to keep illegal migrants in the UK” - the shadow justice secretary defended his remarks on what he claims is a lack of integration in some parts of Britain. He insisted he “won’t shy away” from such issues and said his comments, reportedly made during a visit to Handsworth in March, were simply an “observation”.

Party leader Kemi Badenoch defended her former leadership rival, insisting there was “nothing wrong” with what he said. But local leaders condemned his comments as divisive and “entirely wrong”.

It comes as Tory grandee Michael Heseltine warned Ms Badenoch the party’s attacks on migrants are “not the Conservative way to rebuild power”. In a damning attack on her leadership, the former deputy prime minister used a speech at the conference in Manchester to blast the rhetoric of the current leadership, warning that the inflammatory language “encourages the worst sort of prejudice”. Lord Heseltine warned that instead of aping Reform UK, the Tories “must make clear that we will never have any part in the populist extremism of Nigel Farage”.

Defending his comments on