Starmer asks Man United co-owner to apologize for outrageous comments on UK immigrants

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called on the billionaire co-owner of Manchester United Jim Ratcliffe to apologize for "offensive" comments he made about immigrants in the UK.

The UK had been "colonized by immigrants" and suggested the prime minister was "too nice" to do "difficult things" to stabilize the country's economy, Ratcliffe, one of Britain’s richest men, said.

Ratcliffe, who founded petrochemical company Ineos, made his inflammatory comments to Sky News in a wide-ranging interview released earlier Wednesday.

Starmer responded by saying Britain was "a proud, tolerant and diverse country" and called on Ratcliffe to apologize.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the comments "play into the hands of those who want to divide our country".

Ratcliffe told Sky News: "You can't have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in. I mean, the UK has been colonized. It's costing too much money.".

He cited incorrect population figures, claiming the UK’s population had risen from 58 million in 2020 to 70 million people today. In reality, the UK’s population has increased from 67 million in 2020 to 69.5 million people, according to estimates by the Office for National Statistics.

Ratcliffe, who is the seventh richest man in Britain with a net worth of around £17 billion ($23 billion) according to the Sunday Times Rich List, moved to tax-free Monaco in 2020.

In December 2025, his company Ineos accepted a support package from the British government worth over £120 million ($164 million) to prevent its chemical plant in Grangemouth, Scotland, from closing with the loss of 500 jobs. Ineos also invested £150 million ($205 million) into the site.

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Successive British governments have pledged to reduce immigration which, like in other Western countries, has become a political flashpoint.

Net migration to the UK reached record levels in 2022, swelled by the war in Ukraine and the post-pandemic lifting of travel restrictions, but has since dropped off sharply.

Ratcliffe’s comments drew criticism from Liberal Democrat party leader Ed Davey, who said they were “totally out of step with British values,” as well as from several Manchester United supporter groups.

The Manchester United Supporters Trust said the club “belongs to all of its supporters.”

“No fan should feel excluded from following or supporting the club because of their race, religion, nationality or background,” it added. “Comments from the club’s senior leadership should make inclusion easier, not harder.”

Ratcliffe’s comments align with the arguments made by Britain’s right-wing populist Reform UK party, which ties its anti-immigrant message to protecting the country.

The Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club said the use of the word colonized “echoes language frequently used in far-right narratives that frame migrants as invaders and demographic threats.”

“Such rhetoric has real-world consequences,” the group added. “The UK has experienced sustained increases in hate crimes in recent years, including rises in Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, racially motivated attacks, and hostility towards migrants and people of color.” — Agencies