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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has demanded an apology from Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe after he claimed the UK had been “colonised by immigrants”.
The billionaire businessman told Sky News on Wednesday: “You can’t have an economy with 9mn people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in.”
He added: “I mean, the UK has been colonised. It’s costing too much money. The UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn’t it? I mean, the population of the UK was 58mn in 2020, now it’s 70mn. That’s 12mn people.”
The UK’s population was 66.7mn in mid-2020, rising to 69.4mn in mid-2025, according to estimates by the Office for National Statistics.
Starmer labelled Ratcliffe’s comments “offensive and wrong”, and called on him to apologise.
Ratcliffe also told Sky News that the prime minister had a “tough job” but needed to “do some difficult things with the UK to get it back on track”.
He added Downing Street should be led by “somebody who’s prepared to be unpopular for a period of time to get the big issues sorted out”.
Ratcliffe praised Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing populist Reform UK party, as an “intelligent man” with “good intentions”.
The 73-year-old tycoon is the founder and chair of Ineos, one of the world’s largest chemicals companies, and a co-owner of Manchester United football club.
His remarks were branded “disgraceful” by Kick It Out, the leading anti-discrimination organisation in British football.
“Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comments are disgraceful and deeply divisive at a time when football does so much to bring communities together,” the charity said.
Kick It Out added that Ratcliffe’s figures on population growth were “inaccurate”, and highlighted Manchester United’s “diverse fan base” and location in a city “whose cultural history has been enriched by immigrants”.
Show Racism the Red Card, an anti-racism charity, said it was “deeply concerned” by Ratcliffe’s suggestion the UK was being colonised.
Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club said his words echoed “language frequently used in far-right narratives that frame migrants as invaders and demographic threats”.
Ineos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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