Jim Ratcliffe apologises for ‘choice of language’ after saying immigrants ‘colonising’ UK | Jim Ratcliffe

The Monaco-based billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has said he is sorry his “choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe” after a fierce backlash over his comments that the UK was being “colonised” by immigrants.

The Manchester United co-owner faced a barrage of criticism on Thursday after citing inaccurate immigration statisticsin comments labelled hypocritical and reminiscent of “far-right narratives”.

Keir Starmer quickly said Ratcliffe’s comments on Wednesday evening were “offensive and wrong”, while union leaders accused Ratcliffe – a petrochemicals magnate who saved himself an estimated £4bn in tax payments after changing his tax domicile from Hampshire to Monaco in 2020 – of hypocrisy. On Thursday Reform UK’s leader, Nigel Farage, said: “Jim Ratcliffe is right.”

Critics noted that Britain’s seventh-richest man said immigrants to the UK were “costing too much”, despite having himself sought government financial support worth hundreds of millions of pounds for his loss-making Ineos business.

Ratcliffe also faced condemnation from the football community, with Manchester United fans accusing him of using “language frequently used in far-right narratives”, while anti-racism campaigners said his words were “disgraceful and deeply divisive”. The Football Association said it was looking at whether the billionaire had brought the game into disrepute.

In an interview with Sky News on Wednesday, Ratcliffe took aim at immigrants and people receiving state support, and cited statistics that were two decades out of date to suggest the UK had been “colonised”.

“You can’t afford … you can’t have an economy with 9 million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in,” he said. “The UK is being colonised by immigrants, really, isn’t it? I mean, the population of the UK was 58 million in 2020, now it’s 70 million. That’s 12 million people.”

According to the Office for National Statistics, the population of the UK was 67 million in 2020, and the last time it was anywhere close to 58 million was in 2000.

The petrochemicals executive stopped short of apologising for his words, saying he was “sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe and caused concern”. It was, he added, “important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth”. Starmer’s spokesperson welcomed the apology, but said the prime minister maintained that the comments were “offensive and wrong” as well as “inflammatory and divisive”.

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, said Ratcliffe’s remarks were “disgusting”, while the response from Conservatives was more muted. Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, said while the term was “pejorative” Ratcliffe was “referencing something that is of great concern to millions of people”.

Other ministers echoed the PM’s condemnation, accusing Ratcliffe of hypocrisy. Jake Richards, a justice minister, said it was “offensive that this man who moved to Monaco to save £4bn in tax is now lecturing us about immigration”.

The Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, accused Ratcliffe of making “inaccurate, insulting, inflammatory” comments that were “against everything for which Manchester has traditionally stood”.

“Calling for curbs on levels of immigration is one thing; portraying those who come here as a hostile invading force is quite another,” he said.

Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the TUC, posted on social media: “I call bullshit. ‘Immigrants’ who pay their taxes in this country. Unlike Jim Ratcliffe. Who’s the real patriot?”

Andy Prendergast, the GMB’s national secretary, said Ratcliffe’s tenure at Manchester United had brought “mass dismissals of loyal staff and chaos on the pitch”. “Ratcliffe’s crass and insensitive comments just underline how out of touch and offensive he truly is,” he said. “Frankly, his right to comment on UK affairs should have ended the moment he sloped off to Monaco to avoid paying his taxes.”

Manchester United fans said the club co-owner was “a total embarrassment” and “out of touch”. In a statement, the supporters’ group the 1958 criticised Ratcliffe’s intervention and his decision to comment “on the issues of our country while living in Monaco to avoid paying tax”.

Ratcliffe bought a minority share in United in 2023. He has been labelled an “incompetent clown” and has faced fan protests over his handling of football operations.

The Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club (MUMSC) said Ratcliffe had used “language frequently used in far-right narratives”. A statement said: “Manchester United is a global club built on diversity – on players, staff and supporters from every background, faith and ethnicity. The strength of our club, and of our country, lies in that diversity.”

The Manchester United Supporters Trust said: “Comments from the club’s senior leadership should make inclusion easier, not harder.”

The anti-racism football campaign group Kick It Out called Ratcliffe’s comments “disgraceful and deeply divisive”. In a statement, the organisation said: “This type of language and leadership has no place in English football, and we believe most fans will feel the same.”