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| Tory insiders fear Robert Jenrick is stoking division to fuel leadership ambitions | Tory insiders fear Robert Jenrick is stoking division to fuel leadership ambitions |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Shadow justice minister accused of xenophobia and ‘toxifying’ Conservative brand with immigration comments | |
| Tories have privately accused Robert Jenrick of stoking divisions to fuel his own leadership ambitions, as community groups condemned the shadow justice secretary for describing Britons of Pakistani origin as “people from alien cultures”. | Tories have privately accused Robert Jenrick of stoking divisions to fuel his own leadership ambitions, as community groups condemned the shadow justice secretary for describing Britons of Pakistani origin as “people from alien cultures”. |
| The Liberal Democrats said the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, should sackJenrick after he stood by his claim that mass migration meant the UK had imported hundreds of thousands of people who “possess medieval attitudes towards women”. | The Liberal Democrats said the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, should sackJenrick after he stood by his claim that mass migration meant the UK had imported hundreds of thousands of people who “possess medieval attitudes towards women”. |
| Jenrick was challenged repeatedly on Tuesday morning for having failed to act on the outcome of an inquiry into rape gangs while he was in the Home Office, despite now demanding one, and for rarely mentioning the issue in the Commons until this year. | Jenrick was challenged repeatedly on Tuesday morning for having failed to act on the outcome of an inquiry into rape gangs while he was in the Home Office, despite now demanding one, and for rarely mentioning the issue in the Commons until this year. |
| Badenoch had previously defended the shadow justice secretary’s right to make the comments, which have caused private disquiet among some Conservative MPs. | Badenoch had previously defended the shadow justice secretary’s right to make the comments, which have caused private disquiet among some Conservative MPs. |
| One senior Conservative MP and Badenoch leadership supporter said: “Many in the Conservative party are worried that Jenrick is using the issue of grooming gangs for his own leadership ambitions. Painting a whole culture as alien is nothing short of xenophobic, and undermines the important issue of achieving justice for those poor girls who were let down by so many. | One senior Conservative MP and Badenoch leadership supporter said: “Many in the Conservative party are worried that Jenrick is using the issue of grooming gangs for his own leadership ambitions. Painting a whole culture as alien is nothing short of xenophobic, and undermines the important issue of achieving justice for those poor girls who were let down by so many. |
| “He is busying toxifying the Conservative brand while [the Reform party leader] Nigel Farage is looking like the reasonable one. All because Kemi has failed to rein him in.” | “He is busying toxifying the Conservative brand while [the Reform party leader] Nigel Farage is looking like the reasonable one. All because Kemi has failed to rein him in.” |
| One former Conservative colleague of Jenrick said he was “poisoning the discourse which could damage a very pertinent and important cause”. Another Tory MP described Jenrick’s morning interviews as a disgrace. | One former Conservative colleague of Jenrick said he was “poisoning the discourse which could damage a very pertinent and important cause”. Another Tory MP described Jenrick’s morning interviews as a disgrace. |
| However, a number of current Tory MPs said they agreed with Jenrick, saying he was “doing his job” by talking about perceived failures of integration. | However, a number of current Tory MPs said they agreed with Jenrick, saying he was “doing his job” by talking about perceived failures of integration. |
| On Tuesday, Jenrick insisted he was right to say there had been a failure of integration. “What I have said is that millions of people have come into our country in recent times, but some of them are coming from countries and cultures that have backwards attitudes to women,” Jenrick told Times Radio. “And that’s backed up by the evidence that we have seen from the Jay report [into child sexual exploitation] and the testimonies of the victims. | On Tuesday, Jenrick insisted he was right to say there had been a failure of integration. “What I have said is that millions of people have come into our country in recent times, but some of them are coming from countries and cultures that have backwards attitudes to women,” Jenrick told Times Radio. “And that’s backed up by the evidence that we have seen from the Jay report [into child sexual exploitation] and the testimonies of the victims. |
| “Pakistani men are over-represented in those who are involved in the grooming gangs, and the evidence we have seen is that some of those have specifically preyed upon white, working-class girls because they viewed them as worthless.” | “Pakistani men are over-represented in those who are involved in the grooming gangs, and the evidence we have seen is that some of those have specifically preyed upon white, working-class girls because they viewed them as worthless.” |
| Prof Alexis Jay’s independent inquiry into child sexual abuse did not conclusively find there was an over-representation of Pakistani men, saying a lack of data meant it was “impossible to know whether any particular ethnic group is over-represented as perpetrators of child sexual exploitation by networks”. | Prof Alexis Jay’s independent inquiry into child sexual abuse did not conclusively find there was an over-representation of Pakistani men, saying a lack of data meant it was “impossible to know whether any particular ethnic group is over-represented as perpetrators of child sexual exploitation by networks”. |
| The Lib Dem deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, said: “Robert Jenrick’s attempt to exploit this appalling scandal for his own political gain is completely shameless. He didn’t lift a finger to help the victims when a minister, now he’s jumping on the bandwagon and acting like a pound-shop Farage. | The Lib Dem deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, said: “Robert Jenrick’s attempt to exploit this appalling scandal for his own political gain is completely shameless. He didn’t lift a finger to help the victims when a minister, now he’s jumping on the bandwagon and acting like a pound-shop Farage. |
| “Kemi Badenoch should sack him as shadow justice secretary and condemn his divisive comments, instead of letting him run a leadership campaign under her nose.” | “Kemi Badenoch should sack him as shadow justice secretary and condemn his divisive comments, instead of letting him run a leadership campaign under her nose.” |
| A number of high-profile human rights campaigners also condemned Jenrick. | A number of high-profile human rights campaigners also condemned Jenrick. |
| The Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti said: “Robert Jenrick isn’t blowing a dog whistle but sounding a fog horn with his explosive mixture of race politics and sex abuse. Jenrick would have more credibility if he had any history of standing up against the abuse of women and girls or acting on the Jay report when in government.” | The Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti said: “Robert Jenrick isn’t blowing a dog whistle but sounding a fog horn with his explosive mixture of race politics and sex abuse. Jenrick would have more credibility if he had any history of standing up against the abuse of women and girls or acting on the Jay report when in government.” |
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| Shaista Gohir, the chief executive of Muslim Women’s Network UK, said: “Robert Jenrick’s views are against the very British values he claims to uphold. Given the popularity of the Reform party, it appears he is desperately trying to shamelessly bring attention to himself to gain enough support to become politically relevant again so he can become the next leader of the Conservative party.” | |
| Nazir Afzal, the former chief crown prosecutor for north-west England who authorised the charging of the Rochdale gang, said: “To label an entire group as an ‘alien culture’ is to ignore the centuries of shared history, values, and contributions that we have made to the fabric of the United Kingdom. It is not culture that is foreign, but the ignorance that seeks to divide us.” | Nazir Afzal, the former chief crown prosecutor for north-west England who authorised the charging of the Rochdale gang, said: “To label an entire group as an ‘alien culture’ is to ignore the centuries of shared history, values, and contributions that we have made to the fabric of the United Kingdom. It is not culture that is foreign, but the ignorance that seeks to divide us.” |
| Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, Jenrick was challenged on whether he was saying that Britain should bar immigration from certain countries. “I think that it is very difficult to successfully integrate the very large numbers of people who we have had coming into our country in recent years. We should be open about that,” he said. | Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, Jenrick was challenged on whether he was saying that Britain should bar immigration from certain countries. “I think that it is very difficult to successfully integrate the very large numbers of people who we have had coming into our country in recent years. We should be open about that,” he said. |
| Asked if he was speaking specifically about Pakistan when he described a “medieval attitude to women”, he said: “I think some people who come from that country do. I’m not saying everybody.” | Asked if he was speaking specifically about Pakistan when he described a “medieval attitude to women”, he said: “I think some people who come from that country do. I’m not saying everybody.” |
| He added: “I’ve always said that point, made by Kemi Badenoch, the leader of my party, that not all cultures are equal. We should be very careful about who is coming into this country and the scale of immigration.” | He added: “I’ve always said that point, made by Kemi Badenoch, the leader of my party, that not all cultures are equal. We should be very careful about who is coming into this country and the scale of immigration.” |
| Jenrick said he would not modify his language, in response to criticism by Boris Johnson’s former adviser on communities and civil society, Samuel Kasamu, who called Jenrick’s comments highly divisive and added that they risked people getting killed. | Jenrick said he would not modify his language, in response to criticism by Boris Johnson’s former adviser on communities and civil society, Samuel Kasamu, who called Jenrick’s comments highly divisive and added that they risked people getting killed. |
| “This is about young girls being systematically raped for decades, and you’re asking me about disguising my language so as not to offend people. I’m not going to tiptoe around this issue,” Jenrick said. | “This is about young girls being systematically raped for decades, and you’re asking me about disguising my language so as not to offend people. I’m not going to tiptoe around this issue,” Jenrick said. |