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<\/a><\/p>\nPublished On 12 Feb 202612 Feb 2026<\/p>\n
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Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe is facing a growing backlash after claiming this week that the United Kingdom had been \u201ccolonised by immigrants\u201d, stoking racial hostilities pushed by the far right.<\/p>\n
Politicians, campaigners and fan groups condemned the billionaire\u2019s remarks made in an interview with Sky News broadcast on Wednesday, which saw him suggest \u201chuge levels of immigration\u201d had damaged the economy.<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou can\u2019t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in,\u201d he said, prompting Prime Minister Keir Starmer<\/a> to demand on X that he apologise for his \u201coffensive and wrong\u201d comments.<\/p>\n Posting on X on Thursday, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, a member of Starmer\u2019s Labour Party<\/a>, said Ratcliffe should withdraw his \u201cinaccurate, insulting, inflammatory\u201d depiction of immigrants as \u201ca hostile invading force\u201d.<\/p>\n Burnham noted that footballers who had come from all over the world to play in Manchester and people working in the National Health Service (NHS) and other essential services had \u201cenhanced the life of our city-region\u201d, suggesting that Monaco-based Ratcliffe had \u201cspent years siphoning wealth\u201d out of the club while making \u201clittle contribution\u201d to local life.<\/p>\n Justice minister Jake Richards told the BBC\u2019s breakfast programme that he viewed the tax exile\u2019s comments as \u201cabsurd\u201d. \u201cJim Ratcliffe has moved to Monaco to save 4-billion-pound [$5.5bn] worth of tax in this country. One might question whether he is the patriot we need to comment on this issue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Recent protests against the club\u2019s ownership will now likely expand.<\/p>\n Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club expressed outrage at Ratcliffe\u2019s use of the word \u201ccolonised\u201d, with its echoing of \u201cfar-right narratives that frame migrants as invaders and demographic threats\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cSuch rhetoric has real-world consequences,\u201d said the group, pointing to a recent rise<\/a> in race-motivated hostility that has coincided with surging support for the Reform UK<\/a> party.<\/p>\n