{"id":296672,"date":"2026-02-13T21:47:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T21:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/296672\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T21:47:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T21:47:08","slug":"jim-ratcliffes-colonisation-claim-is-illiterate-demeaning-says-irish-immigrant-group-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/296672\/","title":{"rendered":"Jim Ratcliffe\u2019s \u2018colonisation\u2019 claim is illiterate, demeaning, says Irish immigrant group \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The \u201cinflammatory\u201d charge by Manchester United<\/a> co-owner Jim Ratcliffe<\/a> that Britain has \u201cbeen colonised by immigrants\u201d<\/a> has been sharply condemned by the biggest Irish immigrant group in Britain.<\/p>\n

Ratcliffe\u2019s remarks \u201care not just historically illiterate, it also demeans the rich cultural and economic legacy of those who have contributed to modern Britain\u201d, the Irish in Britain organisation said.<\/p>\n

In a Sky News interview, billionaire Ratcliffe argued that immigration and welfare costs were harming the United Kingdom\u2019s<\/a> economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in. The UK has been colonised. It\u2019s costing too much money,\u201d said the Monaco-based businessman, who also said the political and economic challenges facing Britain were linked to immigration levels.<\/p>\n

Following a furore over his remarks, Ratcliffe said he was sorry for his \u201cchoice of language\u201d and for causing offence, but he insisted there was a need for debate about managed immigration and economic growth. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Jim Ratcliffe sorry he \u2018offended\u2019 some after saying UK \u2018colonised by immigrants\u2019<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Representing hundreds of Irish groups and societies throughout Britain, the Irish in Britain organisation said the UK\u2019s \u201ceconomy, and Manchester\u2019s in particular, has been shaped through migrant labour and exchange\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Manchester Ship Canal, opened in 1894 and built largely by Irish navvies, connected the city to the Irish Sea and to a maritime trade rooted in Britain\u2019s colonial past,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

The history of immigration into Britain was \u201ccomplex, yet it affirms a consistent truth: prosperity has long relied on migration. That contribution extends into Manchester\u2019s rich cultural and sporting history\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral of the \u2018Busby Babes\u2019 of the 1950s were born on the island of Ireland, including Dubliner Liam Whelan, who died in the Munich air disaster,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n

\u201cTheir story forms part of a wider postwar legacy in which Irish and Commonwealth migrants helped rebuild cities, transport networks and the NHS.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group acknowledged public concern about pressure on services, housing and opportunity was real, but \u201cthese challenges arise from policy choices, investment priorities and structural inequality, not from people who come to work, rebuild and contribute\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cScapegoating migrant communities for systemic failures is not new of course. We have seen and heard it before. Words matter because they are consequential, they stoke extremism, division and fear,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\u201cResponsible leadership should be grounded in history and evidence. If Mr Ratcliffe stepped outside of the boardroom and took a walk through the streets of Manchester, Liverpool<\/a> or Leeds, he would see migrant organisations strengthening community connection every day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The \u201cinflammatory\u201d charge by Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe that Britain has \u201cbeen colonised by immigrants\u201d has been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296673,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[9686,93,61,1629,60,33468,1101,917,282,303],"class_list":["post-296672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-common-ground","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-immigration","tag-ireland","tag-jim-ratcliffe","tag-liverpool","tag-manchester-united","tag-tv","tag-united-kingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}