Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called on Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire co-owner of Manchester United, to apologise after the businessman claimed the UK was being “colonised” by immigrants. In an interview with Sky News, Ratcliffe also criticised the number of people on benefits, saying the economy could not sustain 9 million benefit claimants alongside high immigration levels.
Ratcliffe, who moved his tax residency to Monaco in 2020, said the UK population had grown from 58 million in 2020 to 70 million now, implying that 12 million immigrants were responsible. However, Office for National Statistics figures show the population was approximately 67 million in 2020, not 58 million, and last near that figure in 2000.
Responding on X, Starmer described the comments as “offensive and wrong”, adding that Britain is a “proud, tolerant and diverse country”. A Downing Street spokesperson said Ratcliffe’s remarks “play into the hands of those who want to divide our country” and urged him to apologise immediately.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy offered a slightly different view, telling Sky News that Ratcliffe was “right to say that there are too many people who have been written off”, while stressing the need for a trustworthy immigration system. Ratcliffe’s criticism of benefits comes shortly after the government awarded a £120 million grant to his company Ineos to protect 500 jobs.
In the same interview, Ratcliffe compared Starmer unfavourably with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, whom he described as an “intelligent man”. He suggested the government needed to take unpopular decisions to address immigration and welfare, echoing his own approach at Manchester United.
