Man Utd boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe is right on immigration and UK is being 'colonised,' claims Reform UK’s Nadhim Zahawi

The former Conservative Education Secretary, who is now a member of Reform UK, even thanked the Manchester United owner for his comments on immigration.

Sir Jim caused controversy this week after saying, “You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in.

“I mean, the UK is being colonised. It’s costing too much money. The UK has been colonised by immigrants.”

He faced widespread backlash over his use of the word "colonised" and offered an apology to those who were offended.

However, Mr Zahawi has told LBC he welcomes Sir Jim's comments.

Asked by Nick Ferrari at Breakfast whether Sir Jim is right in what he said, Mr Zahawi said: "He was right, I think."

Mr Zahawi did say "there's one word that you can argue", in reference to Sir Jim's use of the word "colonised", which caused most controversy.

He said: "He could have chosen a better word." He also noted that Sir Jim got his statistics "wrong slightly".

Read more: Man Utd players 'not happy' after Sir Jim Ratcliffe claims UK 'colonised by immigrants'

Read more: Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe claims UK has been 'colonised by immigrants'

He told LBC: "In this debate, I thank Jim Ratcliffe because actually his misspeaking has actually raised the debate to a level where people like Nigel [are] saying, hold on a second, let's talk about this.

"Let's just discuss is this really sustainable or should we have a big, big change in our country about how we deal with migration?"

Mr Zahawi, who came to the UK from Iraq as a child refugee, criticised the high net immirgation numbers over previous years.

He said: "More people have come in from the time Tony Blair took office to today than the previous thousand years.

"Twelve million people is an extraordinary thing to happen to any culture, any country.

"Walk down the Edgware Road. Walk down parts of Birmingham. Walk down lots of parts of our country. You wouldn't recognise them.

"I would much rather see, like my parents did, integrate, right? Be proud of this country. You come here, if you come here, you should absolutely absorb our culture, absorb the folk."

Mr Zahawi admitted the Tories, of which he was part of for many years, made a terrible error allowing migration to rise to almost a million people a year.

He said: "That was a mistake. And you have to admit your mistakes before you can fix them in the first place, right?

"It's the scoundrels today, the Lib Dems, Labour, the Greens, would want all of us just to focus on, oh, this is terrible racism. Oh, isn't it awful?

"People are going to be offended. Footballers might be even offended. Well, actually, the footballers, I would say to you, are the sort of immigrants you want because they pay big taxes here.

Sir Jim’s remarks reportedly caused discomfort among some Man Utd players, coming after previous comments last year in which Ratcliffe described certain members of the squad as “inherited.”

In response to the backlash, the club released a statement on Thursday emphasising its commitment to inclusion and diversity, though the statement did not mention Ratcliffe directly or refer to his comments.

It read: “Manchester United prides itself on being an inclusive and welcoming club.

“Our diverse group of players, staff and global community of supporters, reflect the history and heritage of Manchester; a city that anyone can call home.

“Since launching All Red All Equal in 2016, we have embedded equality, diversity and inclusion into everything we do. We remain deeply committed to the principles and spirit of that campaign.

“They are reflected in our policies but also in our culture and are reinforced by our holding of the Premier League’s Advanced Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Standard.

“Over the course of this season, we have participated in events and initiatives at our men’s and women’s games marking mental health, LGBTQ+ inclusion, No Room for Racism, violence against women and girls and homophobic chanting.

“We have also celebrated our supporters’ clubs’ events, including our Disabled Supporters’ Association’s Christmas Party and our Jewish Supporters’ Club’s Chanukah event.

“In the weeks and months ahead, we will be supporting further initiatives in these areas.

“This all sits alongside the incredible work which the Manchester United Foundation undertakes in and around Manchester on a daily basis.

“Manchester United reflects the unity and resilience of all the communities we are so privileged to represent.

“We will continue to represent our people, our city and our fans with purpose and pride.”

The FA is said to have launched a probe into whether Ratcliffe’s comments could be considered as bringing the game into disrepute.