Sir Jim Ratcliffe apologises but Man Utd owner refuses to U-turn on ‘offensive’ comments | Football | Sport

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has apologised for any offence caused by his recent comments on immigration, while at the same time refusing to backtrack on what he said. The INEOS billionaire, who part-owns Manchester United, caused a stir with some pointed remarks in a recent interview with Sky News. He claimed that immigrants had ‘colonised’ the UK while making a false claim about a massive population increase over the last five years.

Ratcliffe told Sky News: “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.” However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that the population of the UK was 67 million in mid-2020 and 70 million in mid-2024. The population figure was estimated at 58.9 million in 2000.

Ratcliffe’s comments were met with widespread criticism, with Sir Keir Starmer branding them ‘offensive and wrong’ and urging the United co-owner to apologise.

On Thursday, the 73-year-old said that he was sorry for any offence caused. However, he didn’t explicitly apologise for his comments, insisting that it was important to speak up about immigration.

“I am sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe,” said Ratcliffe. “It is important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth.”