By DAVID BARRETT, HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR and SAM MERRIMAN, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
Published: 18:28 EST, 12 February 2026 | Updated: 18:28 EST, 12 February 2026
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has apologised for his ‘choice of language’ in claiming the UK has been ‘colonised’ by immigrants but said he was right to address the issue.
The Manchester United co-owner said the comments were intended to ‘stress that governments must manage migration’ in the context of a country’s long-term prosperity.
On Thursday Sir Keir Starmer weighed into the debate, calling Sir Jim’s original comments ‘offensive and wrong’.
‘Britain is a proud, tolerant and diverse country. Jim Ratcliffe should apologise,’ the Prime Minister added in an online post.
But former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith accused Sir Keir of confecting a row, saying his ‘desperate’ condemnation was an attempt to distract from Labour’s own troubles.
The row started on Wednesday when Sir Jim – who as founder of chemical giant Ineos is one of Britain’s richest men – told Sky News: ‘You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in.
‘I mean, the UK is being colonised. It’s costing too much money. The UK has been colonised by immigrants.’
On Thursday, he sought to explain the context of his words after speaking at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp.
Pictured: Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Keir Starmer during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford on May 12, 2024
Sir Keir's tweet demanding that Sir Jim apologises
‘I was discussing the importance of economic growth, jobs, skills and manufacturing in the UK,’ Sir Jim said.
‘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.’
He added that he was ‘sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe and caused concern’, but defended the importance of discussing ‘controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth’.
Sir Keir’s intervention came just hours after he was accused in the Commons of packing his Government with ‘paedophile apologists’, amid a scandal over his appointment of Peter Mandelson and former adviser Matthew Doyle.
Tory MP Sir Iain, who led his party from 2001 to 2003, said: ‘Quite clearly the PM’s intervention was an attempt at a distraction.
He added: ‘Sir Jim was right to make an apology as the language he used was clumsy.
'But clearly the debate is very much live about the scale and impact of mass immigration.’
Downing Street said it was right Sir Jim apologised for his ‘inflammatory, inaccurate, divisive and wrong’ comments.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: ‘One million people living in this country don’t speak any English at all. And that’s the point he was making.’