Billionaire Man United owner says he has lost confidence in the UK

Billionaire Man United owner says he has lost confidence in the UK

Sir Jim Ratcliffe says the UK economy is "on the slide"

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of Britain’s wealthiest figures, says he has lost faith in the UK, calling the country "on the slide".

The founder of petrochemical giant Ineos, who also holds a major stake in Manchester United, said the UK was in decline because of a mix of high taxes and high immigration.

He told the BBC that not investing further in North Sea oil and gas was "insanity" and warned that gas storage was so low the UK could "run out of gas" if a cold snap hits this winter.

In reply to the billionaire’s criticism, the government said it was focused on delivering growth and that business investment had risen over the past two years.

A spokesperson said they did not expect any gas supply issues: "We have a diverse energy mix and are confident in our security of supply."

Sir Jim, whose fortune is estimated at about £15bn, has previously stirred controversy with remarks about immigration. He backed Brexit, but has been a tax resident in Monaco since 2020.

His departure from the UK has been followed by other prominent billionaires, including steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and, most recently, hedge-fund boss Chris Rokos.

Sir Jim said envy in politics was pushing people out of the UK.

"In America they applaud people who create wealth," he said. "Unfortunately the UK has got a bit of a green eye towards wealth at the moment."

He said that for him to come back to the UK, "things would have to get better".

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will adopt a "pragmatic approach" to oil and gas, but one of the government’s biggest unresolved decisions — whether to approve further development of the oil and gas fields at Rosebank and Jackdaw — is still pending.

Sir Jim criticised the delay and said high taxes on North Sea operators were endangering the sector’s future. Tax on energy company profits is being reformed, but will not be fully in place until 2030.

Ineos runs the Forties pipeline, which carries about 30% of the UK’s North Sea oil.

"You would expect [the government] to exploit our natural resources and we're clearly not doing that. We're shutting it down.

"If you tax everybody to death, they're all going to leave. And that's what's happening."

Recent climate data, along with record heatwaves, has strengthened the case against further fossil fuel development. Even so, pressure has increased on the government to move ahead with Rosebank and Jackdaw to protect UK jobs, raise tax income and improve energy security.

Sir Jim supported those arguments, saying it was "absurd" to import more energy than needed.

The government spokesperson said oil and gas would remain important in the UK "for decades to come", but added: "The transition to homegrown clean power is the only way to deliver energy and financial security for families and businesses."

Ineos has invested in the EU's first carbon capture project in Denmark.

Sir Jim warned that low gas storage levels in Europe could create risks for the UK in the coming months.

"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... our storage is not full," he said.

The UK does not usually store much gas, instead depending on LNG (liquidfied natural gas) and gas imports from Europe.

Energy specialist consultancy Cornwall Insight said EU gas storage was currently around 69%, whereas it would normally be 85% at this point in the year.

But Adam Bell of consultancy Stonehaven said supplies were unlikely to run dry.

"We are down compared to where we normally would be but not what I'd regard as catastrophic," he said.

"The physical risk of running out of gas is relatively low, especially if Jackdaw gets the go ahead."

He said the biggest uncertainty was policy in the US, which supplies LNG to the UK.

Sir Jim was speaking in Denmark at the launch of the EU's first carbon capture and storage system (CCS). Ineos has invested in the project, which is being subsidised by the Danish government and the EU.

He said he had wanted to develop CCS in the UK, but there had not been enough government backing.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said the government had pledged £21.7bn for CCS projects over 25 years, but no projects are yet operating in the UK.

At the Esbjerg project in south west Denmark, carbon captured from around the country is brought to large zeppelin-like tanks before being loaded onto a ship called Carbon Destroyer 1. It is then pumped into a depleted oil field nearly 200 miles offshore.

Critics argue that CCS is costly and that the money would be better spent on renewables rather than prolonging fossil fuel use.

Sir Jim’s criticism of the UK goes beyond energy and tax policy. He said the country had once been "a fantastic place".

"We had the greatest empire in the world. We were a great people. We won two world wars," he said.

But he said immigration and welfare spending were both too high now and that politicians had been unwilling to address either.

"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," he said.

Earlier this year he sparked controversy by saying the UK had been "colonised by immigrants".

He later apologised for "offending some people".