Good morning. As Joe Coughlan and Rob Davies report, last night Downing Street said that said the Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe should apologise for his comments that the UK is being “colonised” by immigrants.
Although Ratcliffe’s claim that the UK population had increased by 12m over the past five years was shockingly and absurdly inaccurate, it was still moderately surprising that Downing Street criticised Ratcliffe so quickly and so explicitly. In the past, when public figures have made anti-immigration comments, the default government response has often been to say that they have a point and that these concerns are understandable. It is to soon to know whether the Ratcliffe rebuttal is evidence of a new approach, but Morgan McSweeney, who was the PM’s chief of staff until Sunday, was one of the figures in Downing Street most nervous about being seen as pro-immigration, and there is speculation that with him out of the building, Starmer might be bolder about articulating his progressive instincts.
What No 10 says it important because, when the PM speaks out, ministers feel confident piling in behind. Jake Richards, the justice minister, has picked up the message. He has been doing a broadcast round this morning and he has escalated that attack on Ratcliffe. He told Times Radio:
[Ratcliffe} he certainly doesn’t have to apologise for having an opinion. But personally, and I think, the prime minister thinks, that that language is offensive to so many people.
It is completely absurd to think that our country is being ‘colonised’, which implies some kind of invasion or taken over. That’s not right at all.
Richards also suggested Ratcliffe was a hypocrite.
Let’s just be very clear that Jim Ratcliffe’s comments yesterday both were offensive in terms of the language used, he got his facts wrong, and there’s also something that I find quite offensive, that this man who moved to Monaco to save £4bn in tax is now lecturing us about immigration. There’s something that I find slightly hypocritical about that.
It is hard to imagine Richards letting rip like this if McSweeney were still in charge in Downing Street.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: NHS England publishes its monthly performance figures.
Morning: Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is due to speak to the media on a visit to a training centre in the south of England.
Morning: Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is visiting a Manchester hospital.
11am: Angela Rayner, the former deputy PM, speaks at a night-time economy conference in Liverpool. Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, the mayors of Greater Manchester and Liverpool city region respectively, are also speaking.
Morning: David Lammy, the deputy PM and justice secretary, is visiting a youth offending service in south London.
11.30am; Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
1.30pm: The Manchester Evening News is hosting a Gorton and Denton byelection debate.
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