Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire co-owner of Manchester United, has apologised after claiming the UK is being “colonised” by immigrants. The comments, made in an interview with Sky News, drew sharp criticism from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who described them as “offensive and wrong”.
In the interview, Ratcliffe said: “You can’t afford … you can’t have an economy with 9 million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in. The UK is being colonised by immigrants, really, isn’t it?” He claimed the population had risen from 58 million in 2020 to 70 million, a figure contradicted by the Office for National Statistics, which estimated the 2020 population at 67 million.
Starmer responded on X, calling for an apology, while a Downing Street spokesperson said the remarks “play into the hands of those who want to divide our country”. Ratcliffe later issued an apology, stating he “regretted” the choice of words.
The controversy comes shortly after the government awarded a £120m grant to Ratcliffe’s company, Ineos, to protect 500 jobs. Ratcliffe, who moved his tax residency to Monaco in 2020, also praised Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as “an intelligent man” and criticised Starmer’s leadership, saying the UK needs someone “prepared to be unpopular” to tackle major issues.
