Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged Jim Ratcliffe to apologize for his “offensive and wrong” remarks
British chemical industry tycoon Jim Ratcliffe has blamed the rapid influx of foreigners for the country’s economic problems, saying the UK “is being colonized by immigrants.” The 73-year-old drew criticism from Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the remarks.
In a Sky News interview on Wednesday, the founder and CEO of INEOS chemicals group, who also co-owns English football giants Manchester United, argued that “you can’t have an economy with 9 million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in.”
“The UK is being colonized by immigrants, really, isn’t it? The population of the UK is 58 million in 2020, now it’s 70 million. That’s 12 million people,” Ratcliffe added.
Government data shows the UK population surpassed 58 million in 1995 and was over 66 million in 2020.
“The UK has been colonised by immigrants,” Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.“You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in,” he said. “I mean, the UK has been colonised. It’s costing too much money.“The UK has been… pic.twitter.com/ZwB381dZEJ
— RagingDissident (@JustLinz01) February 12, 2026
Starmer said Ratcliffe should apologize for his “offensive and wrong” comments and described the UK as “a proud, tolerant and diverse country.”
Ratcliffe is Britain’s seventh-richest person with an estimated £17.05 billion ($23.22 billion) fortune. He bought a stake in Manchester United in February 2024, and donated £100 million to Oxford University in 2021 to establish an institute for antimicrobial research.
He supported the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, but is now a tax resident of Monaco. He has previously called mass migration a drain on social services. Ratcliffe backed Starmer in the 2024 election but has also spoken favorably of anti-migration politician Nigel Farage, whose Reform UK party is gaining voter support.
The Starmer government’s pro-migration advocacy recently backfired. The state-funded narrative game ‘Pathways’, designed to discourage teen radicalization, drew audience sympathy for its antagonist, a purple-haired anti-immigrant goth girl named Amelia.
Critics noted the game not only sought to advise young people against protesting immigration but also cautioned against researching its effects – activities they said constitute normal civic engagement.
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