UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe should apologise for saying UK is being ‘colonised by immigrants’

Sir Keir Starmer has described comments made by Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe about immigration as “offensive and wrong”, and called on the billionaire to apologise.

Sir Jim, founder and chair of INEOS, told Sky News that the UK had been “colonised by immigrants” and suggested the prime minister was “too nice” to take the difficult decisions needed to stabilise the economy. He argued that high immigration levels, combined with what he described as nine million people on benefits, were placing strain on the country.

“You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in,” he said. “The UK has been colonised. It’s costing too much money.”

Responding, Keir Starmer said Britain is “a proud, tolerant and diverse country” and urged Sir Jim to retract his remarks. A Downing Street spokesperson added that such language “plays into the hands of those who want to divide our country”.

Sir Jim also claimed the UK population had risen from 58 million in 2020 to 70 million, an increase of 12 million. However, figures from the Office for National Statistics estimate the population was around 66.7 million in mid-2020 and 69.4 million in mid-2025. The population was last close to 58 million around the year 2000.

The comments were made during an interview with Sky News economic editor Ed Conway at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp. Sir Jim compared running the country to his stewardship of Manchester United, saying leaders must sometimes be prepared to be unpopular to address major issues. He said he had taken difficult and unpopular decisions at the football club to tackle what he saw as underlying problems.

Fan groups and anti-racism organisations strongly criticised his remarks. The Manchester United Supporters Trust said no supporter should feel excluded because of their race, religion or nationality and that comments from senior leadership should unite rather than divide. The Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club said the term “colonised” echoed language often associated with far-right narratives. Anti-racism charity Kick It Out described the comments as “disgraceful and deeply divisive”.

Sir Jim, who acquired a 27.7% stake in Manchester United in 2024, has overseen significant restructuring at the club, including job cuts and changes in senior management. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, he is one of the wealthiest individuals in the UK. He moved to Monaco in 2020, a jurisdiction that does not levy personal income or capital gains tax.

During the same interview, Sir Jim described Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as an “intelligent man” with “good intentions”, while adding that similar sentiments could once have been expressed about Sir Keir when he entered government. He reiterated that tackling immigration and welfare dependency would require political courage and a willingness to take unpopular decisions.