A government minister has hit back at “tax exile” Sir Jim Ratcliffe after the billionaire Manchester United owner said he can see why rich people are leaving the UK and described the country as “on the slide”.
Sir Jim, who left the UK in 2018 to become a tax resident in Monaco, claimed a combination of high taxes and high immigration is forcing Britain into decline.
He said for him to return to the UK “things would have to get better”, adding the UK had “once been a fantastic place”.
But women and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson criticised his intervention, saying Sir Jim had lost the “moral high ground” by making “pronouncements” about the UK while deciding to be a tax exile.
“Of course, we want to see a successful economy that involves supporting our businesses to deliver the very best, but you'll forgive me if I do take with a pinch of salt what someone who is a tax exile has to say about our country,” she told the BBC, adding she is “optimistic about that country's prospects”.
Ms Phillipson is the second minister to criticise Sir Jim over his claim the UK is “on the slide” after Treasury minister Torsten Bell said the billionaire Manchester United owner “hates his own country while complaining he doesn’t get big enough subsidies from it”.
She added: “I do think you lose the moral high ground in the argument you make, Jim Ratcliffe, that is, by making these kinds of pronouncements while choosing to make decisions that he is within his rights to make to become a tax exile, and of course, he was also someone, as I understand it, who was a big supporter of Brexit.
“That was over a decade ago now, but we’ve seen the impact of Brexit on our economy, and that’s why this Government is committed to making sure we do have a better trading relationship with the European Union, which will be a central part of how we make sure we do see stronger growth.”
The Manchester United owner is worth around £15bn was a prominent backer of Brexit as Britain’s richest man at the time of his exit.
He told the BBC’s Big Boss Interview: “I think the UK, unfortunately, it was a fantastic place.
“We had the greatest empire in the world. We were a great people. We won two world wars. We’re good, honest folk.
“But unfortunately, at the moment, I think the UK is on the slide. It’s quite difficult to see how we arrest it.”
His remarks follow departures by some of the country’s highest earners, including billionaire hedge fund founder Chris Rokos, who is reportedly moving to Greece amid fears of tax rises in chancellor John Healey’s autumn Budget.
“In America they applaud people who create wealth,” he added. “Unfortunately the UK has got a bit of a green eye towards wealth at the moment.”
Sir Jim also warned that failure to invest in North Sea oil and gas is “insanity” and that gas storage was so low that the UK could “run out of gas” if there was a cold snap this winter. In response, the government said it is “confident” in the robustness of its gas supply.
