Britain’s Wealthiest Man, Manchester United Owner Says U.K. Has Been ‘Colonized’ by Mass Immigration
Sir Jim Ratcliffe in an interview with Sky News on the fringes of the European Industry Summit in Antwerp.
Britain’s wealthiest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has said the country has been “colonized” by immigrants during a recent media interview.
Ratcliffe, founder of the INEOS chemicals group and co-owner of Manchester United, is estimated to have a net worth of around $18 billion.
Speaking to Sky News on the sidelines of the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, Ratcliffe pointed to what he described as rapid population growth in the UK over recent years, which he attributed to immigration and government border policies.
“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/nokvXGMP53
— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) February 11, 2026
“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 colonized. It’s costing too much money.”
He added, “The population of the UK was 58 million in 2020, now it’s 70 million. That’s 12 million people.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer strongly criticized the remarks, calling them “offensive and wrong.”
“Britain is a proud, tolerant and diverse country,” Starmer said. “Jim Ratcliffe should apologise.”
Ratcliffe also commented on the political landscape, including Starmer’s leadership and the rise of opposition figure Nigel Farage, who is currently polling strongly ahead of the next general election.
“I don’t know whether it’s just the apparatus that hasn’t allowed Keir to do it, or he’s maybe too nice,” Ratcliffe 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.”
He offered a measured view of both leaders, saying, “I think Nigel is an intelligent man, and I think he’s got good intentions. But in a way, you could say exactly the same about Keir Starmer.”
“I think it needs somebody who’s prepared to be unpopular for a period of time to get the big issues sorted out,” he added.
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