Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin plans no deal Brexit pub crawl

The Brexit-supporting chairman of J D Wetherspoon is to rise from his sick bed to campaign for a "no deal" withdrawal from the EU.

Tim Martin, who has been taking time out from the office in recent weeks following emergency surgery to remove his appendix, said he would be visiting more than 100 of the pub chain's sites over the next two months.

The businessman said he wanted to speak to customers about the "huge economic advantages" of a hard Brexit.

He became a rare voice in the business community to speak out against Theresa May's draft withdrawal agreement with Brussels, describing the terms as an "appalling deal" that would see the UK "trapped in an undemocratic and
financially inefficient system".

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Mr Martin, who has been replacing EU-sourced drinks in his pubs with products from the UK and elsewhere in the world, wants the UK to adopt a simple free trade approach.

He said: "Now that the details of the appalling deal, negotiated by the Downing Street kitchen cabinet have become clear, it is certain the UK will be financially far better off by choosing no deal.

"The hard mathematics demonstrate beyond doubt that no deal leaves the public and the UK better-off on day one after Brexit.

"The UK will immediately gain by non-payment of the proposed £39bn, for which lawyers have repeatedly confirmed there is no legal liability.

"No deal also allows parliament, on 29 March 2019, to slash import taxes (tariffs) on over 12,000 non-EU products, including oranges, rice, coffee, wine and children's clothes.

"Ending these tariffs will immediately reduce shop prices to UK consumers.

"There is no loss of income to the government from slashing these tariffs, since the proceeds are currently remitted to Brussels.

"Most importantly, no deal allows the UK to regain control of historic fishing grounds, where 60% of fish today are landed by EU boats."

The pub crawl is not Mr Martin's first foray on the Brexit campaign trail.

He has previously written a series of articles for the company's magazine and used the publication of Wetherspoon results to the City to make his case.