The owner of the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team, Jim Ratcliffe, has been forced to issue an apology, of sorts, after hitting out at immigrants and those on social welfare.
He made his criticisms of others even though his business empire has benefitted via support from governments in the EU and Britain to the tune of about €800 million.
"You can't have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in," the Monaco-based tax exile told Sky News. "I mean, the UK has been colonised. It's costing too much money.
"The UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn't it? I mean, the population of the UK was 58 million in 2020, now it's 70 million. That's 12 million people."
His estimates for Britain's population were wrong, meaning he hugely inflated recent population growth to support his claims about what he sees as excessive immigration in Britain to the degree of colonisation.
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The Office of National Statistics (ONS) put the population at 67 million in 2020 and 70 million in 2024. The UK population was estimated at 59 million in 2000, some 20 years before Ratcliffe claimed.
Many of the foreign born people living in the UK have come from countries colonised by Britain, something not referenced in Ratcliffe's remarks.
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Though he apologised if his remarks caused offence, rather than for the remarks themselves, the football club he co-owns, Manchester Utd, issued a statement insisting it "prides itself on being an inclusive and welcoming club". It also pointed out it had a "diverse group of players".
This is reflected in the fact the first team is often made up of mainly foreign players while many of its legends - including players like Eric Cantona and Rory Keane, to mention just two - were immigrants in Britain.
The 1958, a group of Manchester United fans that wants change at the club, called Ratcliffe “a total embarrassment". Britain's prime minister, Keir Starmer, said Ratcliffe's comments were “offensive and wrong”.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the day after his remarks were broadcast on Sky News, Ratcliffe said he was "sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe and caused concern".
He continued: "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."
The Guardian newspaper reported Ratcliffe's business empire had claimed state support - via both grants and loan guarantees - worth about €800m from the UK and EU. These monies and guarantees aided his refineries and chemical plants.
