Sir Jim Ratcliffe, co-owner of Manchester United and founder of Ineos Chemicals, faced a backlash from Prime Minister Keir Starmer after he told Sky News that the UK was being “colonized” by immigrants.

“You can’t have an economy with nine million people on welfare and a huge influx of immigrants,” he told Sky News on Wednesday. “I mean, Britain has been colonized. It costs too much money.”

“Britain has always colonized by immigrants, Really, isn’t it? I mean, the UK population was 58 million in 2000 and now it’s 70 million. That’s 12 million people,” he continued.

Sky information The response pointed out to readers: “However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that the UK population was 67 million in mid-2020 and 70 million in mid-2024. The UK population in 2000 was estimated at 58.9 million.”

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the Manchester United boss’s comments, praising Britain as an inherently diverse country. (Thomas Creech/Pool, Reuters)

While Ratcliffe questions whether current Prime Minister Starmer is up to the job, he says he may have the best intentions.

“I don’t know if it’s just the equipment that doesn’t allow Kyle to do it, or maybe he’s too nice. I know Kyle, he’s a good guy,” he said. “I like him but it’s a hard job and I think you’re going to have to do some hard things with the UK to get it back on track because at the moment I don’t think the economy is in good shape.”

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage, now head of the company british reform party He was one of the key figures on Brexit and was highly praised by Ratcliffe.

“I think Nigel is an intelligent man and I think he has good intentions,” he said. “But to a certain extent you could say the same thing about Keir Starmer. I think it takes someone who is prepared to be unpopular for a period of time to solve the big problems.”

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Sir Jim Ratcliffe has issued a warning to Britain’s political leaders that steps need to be taken to tackle the migrant crisis even if it risks making them temporarily unpopular. (Plumb Photo/Leicester City Football Club, Getty Images)

Ratcliffe believes that people often have to take unpopular steps in order to do what is best for the whole, and compares this to the steps he took at Manchester United, which he believed were ultimately better for the organization.

“But the country is facing the same problem,” he said. “If you really want to solve the big problem of immigration, where people are choosing to get welfare rather than work for a living, if you want to solve that problem, then you have to do something unpopular and show some courage.”

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On September 13, 2025, in London, England, protesters waved Union Jack and St. George’s flags during the “United Kingdom” rally held on Westminster Bridge next to the Houses of Parliament. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

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Starmer, involved in other controversies Ratcliffe criticized Ratcliffe’s comments in a social media post this week, saying they were “offensive and wrong. Britain is a proud, tolerant and diverse nation. Jim Ratcliffe should apologize.”