Adil Ray has spoken out against Sir Jim Ratcliffe, after the Ineos founder and Manchester United co-owner, sparked outrage for declaring that Britain has been “colonised” by immigrants.
Speaking at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, where European leaders, including Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz, gathered with business figures, the billionaire argued that migration was placing excessive strain on state resources.
“You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in,” he stated. “I mean, the UK has been colonised. It’s costing too much money.”
During a Sky News interview, the chemicals magnate claimed the UK population had grown from 58 million in 2020 to 70 million, though Office for National Statistics figures show the population stood at 67 million in mid-2020, rising to 70 million by mid-2024.
The UK population was estimated at 58.9 million in 2000.
Mr Ray took to Instagram and BlueSky to share his thoughts, sharing a photo of text which read: “Radcliffe [sic] should remember we immigrants and children of immigrants are here because of British colonisation and make a huge contribution.
“He moved to Monaco to avoid £4bn tax. His club Man U owes everything to migrant players and migrant supporters. He’s an embarrassment to the club and game.”
The ITV star captioned the image with the question: “Are migrants welcome to support his club? How many is too many?”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe made a series of controversial statements on immigration
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GETTYFans of the TV presenter were quick to flood his comments with support.
“If he wants the UK’s finances to be better, perhaps he could pay tax in this country,” one viewer wrote, while another penned: “Well said and spot on.”
A third said: “You are spot on as usual. Yet another billionaire moaning about immigration while not paying taxes here.”
“Thank you for speaking out,” another declared, while a fifth alleged: “Old white rich men once again blaming migrants.”
However, some were less complimentary of Mr Ray.
One person complained: “Oh man what happened to you? I followed you for the longest time. You brightened my day with your posts, but now they are just political. We are all entitled to opinions, etc., I hear you, but please bring back the humour that made me follow you.”
Elsewhere, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer swiftly condemned the Ineos boss’s remarks, demanding a public apology.
“Offensive and wrong,” the Prime Minister wrote on X. “Britain is a proud, tolerant and diverse country. Jim Ratcliffe should apologise.”
Downing Street reinforced the criticism, stating that the “offensive remarks play into the hands of those who want to divide our country”.
Mr Ratcliffe had also questioned whether Mr Starmer was suited to lead, suggesting the country required someone “prepared to be unpopular for a period” while describing the Prime Minister as “maybe too nice”.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp offered a contrasting view when speaking to GB News, arguing it was “perfectly right” for the businessman to address Britain’s migration situation.
He said: “The ones who should be apologising are Keir Starmer and Shabana Mahmood… for allowing 65,000 migrants to cross the Channel since the General Election.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for Sir Jim to apologise for his comments
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X/KEIR STARMERFormer Dragons’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne has also thrown his weight behind the Manchester United co-owner’s controversial remarks.
The multi-millionaire entrepreneur responded “Here, here” to former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie, who argued that Sir Jim “is to be listened to”.
Deborah Meaden, however, took the opposite stance to her Dragons’ Den co-star.
The businesswoman reposted a string of messages criticising the billionaire and backed calls from Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey for him to apologise.
Many GB News stars weighed in on the debate.
Michelle Dewberry quickly responded to the Prime Minister’s comments, posting on X: “Hi @Keir_Starmer. I think you’ll find scores of people agree with him.”
She continued: “Instead of constantly trotting out mantras about how ‘diversity is our strength’ & demanding apologies from those who disagree…
“Why don’t you go and talk to people and truly try to understand their view on what you and others have done to their communities….”
Reform UK leader and GB News star Nigel Farage also shared Sir Keir’s post, saying: “Britain has undergone unprecedented mass immigration that has changed the character of many areas in our country. Labour may try to ignore that but Reform won’t.”
Meanwhile, Patrick Christys called for Sir Keir to apologise for demanding Sir Jim say sorry.
Fellow People’s Channel star Alex Armstrong similarly hit out: “The Prime Minister has no place telling private citizens what they should say or think.
“It’s not like Starmer is in a position to lecture anyone on being ‘wrong’ nor should he advise on making apologies.”
