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Kemi Badenoch has defended Robert Jenrick after he described Britons of Pakistani origin as “people from alien cultures”, saying it was vital to have an open debate about the abuse and rape of women and girls by grooming gangs.
The Conservative leader’s intervention was made after Samuel Kasumu, a former Tory adviser on race issues, said Jenrick’s comments were highly divisive and risked people getting killed.
Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, has been particularly outspoken on the issue after it emerged that the government had refused a request by Oldham council to hold another national inquiry into failings over the cases, saying a local investigation would be more productive.
In a lengthy tweet on Saturday, Jenrick said the crimes had been “legalised and actively covered up to prevent disorder” because authorities were concerned that a predominance of men of British-Pakistani origin among the offenders would harm community relations.
“This appalling affair is the final nail in the coffin for liberals who still cling to the argument that Britain is an integration success story,” Jenrick wrote. “The scandal started with the onset of mass migration. Importing hundreds of thousands of people from alien cultures, who possess medieval attitudes towards women, brought us here.”
Asked about Jenrick’s comments, Kasumu told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that his blood was “boiling”.
He said: “I don’t think that Elon Musk or Nigel Farage are the most dangerous individuals in our country. I think Robert Jenrick has the potential to be the most divisive person in our political history. Some of his words over the last 12 months may result in some people maybe even dying. He has the potential to incite hatred in ways that I have never seen.”
Kasumu added: “He needs to tone it down, or we’re going to have a really terrible 2025.”
Asked about Jenrick’s views, Conservative officials referred reporters to comments on Sunday by Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, who declined to endorse or condemn them, telling Sky News: “He’ll choose his words, I’ll choose mine.”
But later on Sunday, Badenoch condemned Kasumu, commenting above a clip of his BBC interview to write: “This nonsense of attacking anyone with a different viewpoint as ‘divisive’ has to stop. We MUST be free to have tough conversations, no matter how difficult that may be to hear.
“We need moral courage, not silencing of debate through personal attacks. This is a classic example of why politicians stop being honest with the public, and the problems have stacked up over decades. The Conservative Party is under new leadership and that means confronting difficult truths.”
Sarah Owen, the Labour MP who chairs the Commons women and equalities committee, and who has previously said that the Conservatives’ focus on migration and small boat crossings helped stoke August’s UK riots, condemned Jenrick.
“It’s pretty galling that Robert Jenrick, who was part of the last government which oversaw around 98% of reported rapes going unpunished, finds he now cares about victims,” she said.
“To many people, Jenrick’s concern will ring hollow as he continues to be more concerned about self-promotion and division, than he is victims of rape and sexual violence.”
