LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday that Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe should apologize for saying the UK has been "colonized by immigrants," branding the comments "offensive and wrong."
The condemnation came hours after Ratcliffe made the remarks in a television interview in which he suggested "huge levels of immigration" to the UK had harmed the economy.
"You can't have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in," Monaco-based Ratcliffe told Britain's Sky News.
"I mean, the UK has been colonized. It's costing too much money," he said, repeating: "The UK has been colonized by immigrants, really, hasn't it?"
Ratcliffe went on to cite erroneous statistics that the UK population was 58 million in 2020 and that "now it's 70 million."
Population estimates from the Office for National Statistics show the country's population was 67 million in mid-2020 and just under 70 million in mid-2024.
The UK population climbed above 58 million between 1994 and 1995, more than three decades ago, according to ONS data.
Within hours of Ratcliffe's remarks being reported, Starmer had taken to X to hit back.
"Offensive and wrong," he posted, linking to the Sky News story.
"Britain is a proud, tolerant and diverse country. Jim Ratcliffe should apologize."
A spokesman for Starmer's Downing Street office added that Ratcliffe's remarks "play into the hands of those who want to divide our country."
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