Sir Keir Starmer has called for an apology from billionaire Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe after he suggested that Britain is being “colonised by immigrants”.
The businessman, who has been living in tax-free Monaco since 2020, is the founder and chair of one of the world’s largest chemical companies, Ineos, which was granted £120m in UK state aid to protect jobs last year.
Mr Ratcliffe said that immigration is “costing too much money” due to the number of people “on benefits”, in an interview with Sky News on Wednesday evening.
“You can’t have an economy with 9 million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in,” he said. “I mean, the UK is being colonised. It’s costing too much money ... The UK has been colonised by immigrants.”
The prime minister hit back in a statement on X/Twitter, saying: “Offensive and wrong. Britain is a proud, tolerant and diverse country. Jim Ratcliffe should apologise.”
Mr Ratcliffe also went on to share inaccurate information on population statistics in the UK.
“I mean, the population of the UK was 58 million in 2020, now it’s 70 million,” he said. “That’s 12 million people.”
The Office for National Statistics estimates that the population of the UK was in fact 67 million in 2020 and was last close to 58 million over a quarter of a century ago in 2000.
Mr Ratcliffe said that addressing the “major issues of immigration” and people choosing benefits over work would require “unpopular” actions and “courage”, despite Ineos employing more than 26,000 people across 194 sites in 29 countries across the world.
Mr Ratcliffe was one of the most vocal proponents of Brexit before moving to Monaco in its aftermath.
The Manchester United Muslim Supporters’ Club said it was “deeply concerned” by the comments from the co-owner, adding that “such rhetoric has real-world consequences”.
Leading anti-racism charity Kick It Out described the comments as “disgraceful” and “deeply divisive”.
In a statement, the group added: “In addition to the inaccurate figures mentioned, it's worth reminding him that Manchester United has a diverse fan base and plays in a city whose cultural history has been enriched by immigrants.
“This type of language and leadership has no place in English football, and we believe most fans will feel the same.”
Later in the interview, Sir Jim claimed the beleaguered Sir Keir was “too nice” for the “tough job” of prime minister.
“I don’t know whether it’s just the apparatus that hasn’t allowed Keir to do it, or he’s maybe too nice – I mean, Keir is a nice man,” he said. “I like him, but it’s a tough job and I think you have to do some difficult things with the UK to get it back on track, because at the moment I don’t think the economy is in a good state.”
Describing Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as an “intelligent man” with “good intentions”, he acknowledged that similar thoughts had been expressed about Sir Keir as he entered government.
“I think it needs somebody who’s prepared to be unpopular for a period of time to get the big issues sorted out,” he concluded.
He compared his experience of managing Manchester United to turning the country around, explaining he had also been “unpopular” at the start of his tenure.
Sir Jim acquired a minority stake in Manchester United in late 2023, with his Ineos group subsequently assuming control of the club’s football operations.
His tenure has already seen a number of contentious changes, particularly concerning ticket pricing and availability, which have drawn significant ire from United fans.
A protest against the club’s owners – including for the first time towards Sir Jim as well as the Glazers – took place before Manchester United’s recent home game against Fulham.
The Independent has contacted Man United and Sir Jim for comment.
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