Two of Britain’s wealthiest business chiefs have launched fierce criticism against government policies and the health of the UK economy.

Billionaire energy boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe and gambling entrepreneur Fred Done have separately warned about the state of the economy and direction of policy in the past 48 hours.

In particular, the business chiefs claimed the state of tax policy coupled with government attitudes towards wealth is driving high earners away from the UK and forcing the country into decline.

In an interview with the BBC, Ratcliffe, who owns petrochemicals giant Ineos, said: “In America they applaud people who create wealth.”

“Unfortunately the UK has got a bit of green eyes towards wealth at the moment.”

His remarks follow departures of some of the country’s top earners, including hedge fund founder Chris Rokos, who is reportedly moving to Greece amid fears of tax rises in the looming Autumn Budget.

Ratcliffe himself left the UK in 2018 to become a tax resident in Monaco, saying that “things would have to get better” before he considered returning, calling Britain a once “fantastic place”.

He said: “Unfortunately, at the moment, I think the UK is on the slide. It’s quite difficult to see how we arrest it.

“Two things: we need politicians who are tough enough to deal with some very difficult problems, and we know what the problems are.”

“And we need politicians who will make decisions which are good for the country, not good for themselves and their party. And we haven’t had one of those for a long time.”

Britain’s biggest taxpayer Fred Done echoed Ratcliffe’s words, saying that while he is “too old” to join the ranks of rich residents fleeing, he could not dissuade his children from doing so.

The Betfred founder added he “would not wish to be reborn in the UK”, blaming the state of the tax system for his views.

“They keep saying those with the broadest shoulders should be paying more tax. Well, how broad do my shoulders have to be? We paid £400m in taxes as a family last year,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times.

‘Insanity’ to ignore North Sea

Ratcliffe also warned that failure to invest in North Sea oil and gas was “insanity” and that the UK could run out gas this winter off the back of low storage.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham is facing growing pressure to approve the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields, but granting permission could throw his net zero goals into question and antagonise the left of his party just as he faces a by election battle in London against the Greens.

Burnham insisted he was “determined” to achieve net zero by 2050.

The Manchester United owner also called on the government to focus on immigration as well as high taxes, criticising politicians for being reluctant to act on what he called an “immigration problem” as well as the “benefits problem”.

In a separate interview with the Sunday Times, he urged Burnham to make “tough” cuts, likening doing so to his project to slash 450 jobs and introduce cost cutting measures.

Done also called out Labour’s stance on the gambling industry, predicting all bookmakers will be “dead” by 2030.

“I believe that by 2030, we will have no betting shops. The high street will be dead.” he said.

His gloomy prediction comes as Chancellor John Healey mulls raising machine gaming duty, the taxes levied on slot machines, at the Autumn Budget.

If the rate were to rise from 20 per cent to 40 per cent, Done said Betfred would shut 495 outlets at the loss of 2,575 jobs and £67mn in taxes paid to the Exchequer.

Labour pushes back

Women and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson hit back at Ratcliffe’s claims, arguing he lost the “moral high ground” upon deciding to be a tax exile.

Speaking on the Laura Kuenssberg programme, she said:  “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.”

Phillipson is the second minister to criticise Ratcliffe, after Treasury minister Torsten Bell said that the tycoon “hates his own country while complaining that he doesn’t get big enough subsidies from it”.