Residents and business owners in Handsworth have reacted with fury to Robert Jenrick's "lack of white faces" comments. "

The Shadow justice secretary said he visited the Birmingham suburb which he branded "as close as I've come to a slum in this country". "

He also said it was "one of the worst integrated places I've ever been to," adding: "In the hour-and-half I was filming news there I didn't see another white face." "

Locals in Handsworth have reacted angrily to Jenrick's comments and accused him of "spouting crap". "

Vinod Parekh, 60, moved to the city from Fiji 35 years ago, and now runs a custom-made jewellery business.



He said: "We have people coming into our business from outside of Birmingham, they come from all over the country. "

"We have a lot of people making a business here. What difference does it make what colour of skin they have? "

"When the wedding season starts, which is our busy time, we have all kinds of people coming here. "

"We are certainly not a slum either. On this street there are lots of businesses and shops."



"We are booming, it is not right to say it's a slum. "

"I live here with my wife and I am proud to live in an area which is diverse. "

"This is a mixed community, we should live together." "

One white woman, who did not want to be named, said: "You don't see many white people and there is litter everywhere. "

"When you go in the shops, you have trouble because they don't speak English. "

"I won't come out alone, I have to come out with my partner. "

"I have only been here for three weeks but I want to leave by Christmas."



"Yesterday I talked to a man who said he had been offered drugs three times while walking into the town." "

Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: "When I heard what he [Jenrick] had said, my first thought was 'haven't we heard this crap before?'"

"Politicians like Enoch Powell were spouting about rivers of blood 50 years ago so nothing changes."

"He [Jenrick] might be accurate when he says there are more ethnic minorities in Handsworth than white people but so what?"

"You don't hear people criticising the Cotswolds, which is only an hour's drive from here, being wall-to-wall white faces, but maybe that's because it's full of rich people."

According to Birmingham City Council, Handsworth's 11,814 residents are some of the poorest in the entire city.

The ward has the 6th highest share of residents with no qualifications with a large number claiming benefits and are out of work.

Figures on ethnicity show 10,787 residents are BAME, which accounts for 91.3 per cent of the population.

Meanwhile 1,032 are white, accounting for 8.7 per cent of the population.

The main ethnic groups are Indian (2,736 residents) and Pakistani (2,962 residents).

There are 927 Black African residents and 971 Black Caribbean residents – both fewer than the 1,032 white residents.