Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has delivered a damning verdict on the state of Britain, claiming the country is “on the slide” because of immigration, welfare spending and high taxes.
The 73-year-old billionaire argued that politicians lacked the determination to tackle what he described as Britain’s “immigration problem” and “benefits problem”.
Ratcliffe, the founder of petrochemicals giant INEOS, said the UK had once been a “fantastic place” but accused successive governments of failing to make difficult decisions.
Speaking to the BBC, the prominent Brexit supporter invoked Britain’s history as he demanded tougher political leadership.
“We had the greatest empire in the world,” Ratcliffe said. “We were a great people. We won two world wars.
“Nobody’s tough enough to deal with the immigration problem. Nobody’s tough enough to deal with the benefits problem.
“But somebody needs to do it.”
It is not the first time Ratcliffe has sparked controversy with his comments about immigration and the welfare system.
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has delivered a damning verdict on the state of Britain, claiming the country is “on the slide” because of immigration, welfare spending and high taxes
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In February, the United minority owner claimed the UK had been “colonised” by migrants while discussing the number of people receiving benefits.
“You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in,” he said at the time.
“I mean, the UK has been colonised. It’s costing too much money.”
Ratcliffe subsequently apologised for “offending some people” following a backlash over his choice of language.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe made his latest intervention while attending the launch of the EU’s first carbon capture and storage system in Denmark
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He has also criticised previous Conservative governments for failing to reduce immigration following Britain’s departure from the European Union.
Ratcliffe made his latest intervention while attending the launch of the EU’s first carbon capture and storage system in Denmark.
The INEOS chief also attacked Britain’s energy policy, describing the failure to support further North Sea drilling as “insane”.
INEOS operates the Forties pipeline system, which carries just under a third of the oil produced in the North Sea.
Ratcliffe warned that the UK could face gas supply problems if it experiences a particularly severe cold spell this winter.
“You would expect the government to exploit our natural resources and we’re clearly not doing that,” he said. “We’re shutting it down.
“If you tax everybody to death, they’re all going to leave. And that’s what’s happening. Our storage is not full.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a minority owner of Manchester United
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GETTY“If we have a really sharp cold spell, then there is conceivably the possibility that we’ll run out of gas and have to switch industry off.”
The Government rejected Ratcliffe’s warning and insisted Britain possessed a secure and varied energy supply.
“We have a diverse energy mix and are confident in our security of supply,” a spokesperson said.
“The transition to homegrown clean power is the only way to deliver energy and financial security for families and businesses.”