Ratcliffe sorry language ‘offended some’ after immigration comments
“I mean, the UK has been colonised. It’s costing too much money. The UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn’t it?”
Ratcliffe incorrectly claimed the population of the UK had risen by 12 million to 70 million people in the last five years. The Office for National Statistics estimates it has actually risen from 66.7 million to 69.4 million, an increase of less than three million.
He said: “You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in. The billionaire co-owner of Manchester United was mad about immigrants in England but he forgot one thing.
In 2020, the billionaire Jim Ratcliffe moved from the UK to Monaco, which does not collect personal income tax or capital gains taxes.
He acquired a 27.7% stake in Man Utd in 2024, and has since restructured the organization, making 450 redundancies, overhauling senior management and sacking two managers. This means Sir Jim Ratcliffe does not pay taxes in England while those immigrants he is attacking are the ones working and paying taxes to keep England economically alive.
On Thursday, Sir Jim said: “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.”
Following the billionaire’s comments to the broadcaster, the prime minister’s spokesman said Sir Keir thought they were “offensive and wrong” and it is “absolutely right” he apologized.
The British government has no problem with the crap from Sir Jim. They are just telling him not to say that so loudly otherwise they are fine with that kind of thinking. For them, it is the “language” used which is the problem. We know where that thinking comes from.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said “a lot of people find that language offensive”.
He added the government has “done a lot to bear down” on small boats and there is “lots we need to do on irregular migration”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage previously pushed back against Sir Keir, saying: “Britain has undergone unprecedented mass immigration that has changed the character of many areas in our country.”
Pep Guardiola has urged societies to “embrace other cultures” to cultivate a “better society,” in response to controversial remarks made by Sir Jim Ratcliffe concerning immigration.
The Manchester City manager’s comments follow Ratcliffe’s assertion earlier this week that the UK had been “colonized” by immigrants, remarks for which the Manchester United minority owner has since apologized.
While acknowledging Ratcliffe’s subsequent apology, Guardiola highlighted a broader, global issue regarding the treatment of immigrants.
“I have a huge appreciation for Sir Jim. I was fortunate to meet him. He made a statement after to apologise,” Guardiola stated at a press conference.
“I’m not commenting on what Sir Jim Ratcliffe said because after that he said what exactly he wanted to say, but all around the world the problem that we have in all the countries (is that) we treat immigrants or people who come from other countries as the problem for problems that our countries have and it is a big, big, big, big, big problem.”
Drawing on his own experiences, Guardiola reflected on the arbitrary nature of birthplace.
“The fact that I am a Catalan and you are British – what influence did we have on where we were born? It was mum and dad,” he said.”Everybody wants to have a better life and a perspective to have a better future for themselves, their families and their friends, and sometimes opportunities come in the place where you are born and the place that maybe you go.”
Guardiola stressed that modern society should transcend superficial differences.
“Today the colour of the skin or where you were born doesn’t make a difference. We have a lot of work to do about that,” he asserted.
He shared how his travels and diverse living experiences, from Mexico to Qatar, Italy, England, and Germany, have enriched his personality.
“It doesn’t make me feel that because I am Catalan I am better than you… I met incredibly nice people travelling and that is what it is about, but it doesn’t make me feel better just for the fact I was born in one place or the other one.”
He concluded by noting that many immigrants are “running away from countries because of problems in their countries, not because they want to leave.
Talking about colonization, we as Kenyans lived through barbaric British grabbing our country and everything in it for more than 60 years. That is the time they called themselves Great Britain. I have no idea what they call themselves now.
