'Brexit was about immigration ...its voters now feel let down'

BILLIONAIRE Brexiteer Sir Jim Ratcliffe says supporters like him have been let down since Britain quit the EU.

- Steph Spyro

The boss of petrochemicals giant INEOS blasted immigration and economic failures following our departure in January 2020.

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim said Brexit "didn't turn out how people anticipated".

He added: "Brexit was largely about immigration that was the biggest component of that vote.

"People were getting fed up of the influx of [the size of] the city of Southampton coming in every year, I think last year it was two times Southampton.

"A small island like the UK can't cope with vast numbers of people coming in it just overburdens the National Health Service, the traffic service, the police.

"The country was designed for 55 or 60 million people and we've got 70 million people, and all the services break down as a consequence." Net migration hit a record 745,000 in 2022.

It it is estimated to have fallen to 672,000 in the year to June 2023 but the Government's 2019 manifesto commitment, made when net migration was around 219,000, was for overall numbers to come down.