Sir Jim sorry his comments have ‘offended some people’ but Truss says ‘Ratcliffe is right’

The INEOS billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has said he is “sorry” his comments have “offended some people” after he said the “UK has been colonised by immigrants.”

On Wednesday Sky News reported an interview between the Economics and data editor Ed Conway, where Sir Jim Ratcliffe who part owns Manchester United warned the UK is facing social and economic challenges.

Sir Jim said, “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 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 58 million in 2020, now it’s 70 million. That’s 12 million people.”

Dragon Den star agrees with Jim Ratcliffe ‘the UK has been colonised by immigrants’

Sir Keir Starmer said that Sir Jim’s comments are “offensive and wrong,” he then claimed, “Britain is a proud, tolerant and diverse country. Jim Ratcliffe should apologise.”

During the Sky News interview Sir Jim took aim at Starmer, suggesting that he might not be right for the job.

He recalled meeting the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, Sir Jim said, “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.”

Si Jim said on Thursday lunch time, “I am sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe and caused concern, but it is important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth.”

He added: “My comments were made while answering questions about UK policy at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, where I was discussing the importance of economic growth, jobs, skills and manufacturing in the UK.

My intention was to stress that governments must manage migration alongside investment in skills, industry and jobs so that long-term prosperity is shared by everyone. It is critical that we maintain an open debate on the challenges facing the UK.

The former Tory Prime Minister Liz Truss backs Sir Jim’s comments that the UK has been “colonised” by immigrants.

Truss wrote on X, “Ratcliffe is right.

Now let’s see him and fellow business leaders step up and help fix the country. We need their skills.

“In particular they need to replace the senior bureaucrats who have failed.”