Nigel Farage says Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s immigration comments were ‘correct’
Nigel Farage has chipped in on the controversy surrounding the comments by Manchester United co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The Reform UK leader weighed in on Sir Jim’s remarks, one of the richest people in the country, after the billionaire appeared to row back on some of his debunked claims about immigration.
Sir Jim, the CEO of the chemical giant Ineos, has sparked anger after claiming that the UK is being ‘colonised by immigrants.’
The businessman, who moved to Monaco in 2020 to save £4 billion in UK taxes, said the UK’s population has ballooned by 12 million since 2020 when it was 58 million. In fact, the last time the UK’s population was around 58 million was in 2000, according to official statistics.
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He also said that ‘you can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits.’
Farage took to social media to try to defend the ManU co-owner, whose words forced the team to issue a statement saying the club takes pride in being ‘inclusive and welcoming.’
Speaking to Sky News, Farage insisted that Sir Jim apologised for the use of the word ‘colonised’ but not for his comments overall.
How many people have migrated to the UK?
Official figures show that net migration overall has been higher in the last decade than in the previous ones.
Net migration records the number of long-term immigrants arriving in Britain, including international students, work visa holders, family members, asulym seekers and returning British nationals, and the number of emigrants leaving.
This figure reached a peak of around 944,000 people in the year to March 2023.
The latest estimate is in sharp contrast to this, with net migration expected to stand at 204,000 in the year to June 2025, according to provisional figures from the ONS.
When challenged about the incorrect population figure, Farage said Sir Jim ‘said 2020, but he meant to say 2000.’
Farage continues: ‘Given that state of affairs, he said we don’t need mass migration into Britain, and then he goes on to say “that it feels like parts of the UK have been colonised.”‘
He claimed the UK has seen ‘an explosion in the population without the financial compensation to make people’s lives better.’
When asked whether the use of the term colonised was offensive, Farage said: ‘It is probably, in the dictionary definition, correct, but people are not quite ready for it.’
Both Farage and Sir Jim appeared to suggest that all of those receiving benefits were out of work.
The Reform leader went on to say that the UK’s 9 million unemployed people are on a ‘benefit of some kind, albeit some of them in-work benefits.’
How many people are on benefits in the UK?
The UK has several different benefits, with the most common being the State Pension with more than 12 million recipients.
For working-age people, Universal Credit is the most common one. Around 8.4 people were claiming it as of December 2025.
Figures from the Department for Work show that as of December last year, 2.2 million Universal Credit claimants were in work, while 1.5 million were looking for work and a further 500,000 were planning or preparing for work.
Around 4.2 million claimants were classed as not required to work, including those in education, state pension recipients and those assessed not being able to work due to health or disability.
Sky’s Matt Barbett then interjects, correcting Farage that ‘most of them are in-work benefits, actually.’
Sir Jim’s comments on Wednesday caused an uproar, including from two of the biggest Manchester United supporters’ clubs.
The Prime Minister labelled his remarks ‘offensive and wrong’ and urged the businessman to apologise.
Yesterday, the Ineos boss issued a statement appearing to row back on some of it: ‘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.
‘My comments were made while answering questions about UK policy at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, where I was discussing the importance of economic growth, jobs, skills and manufacturing in the UK.
‘My intention was to stress that governments must manage migration alongside investment in skills, industry and jobs so that long-term prosperity is shared by everyone. It is critical that we maintain an open debate on the challenges facing the UK.’
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