Wetherspoon chief says staying in EU bad for small businesses

Tim Martin, pub chain chairman, says relationship with Brussels undemocratic and unproductive, as 250 industry leaders join pro-Brexit campaign

Continued membership of the European Union would leave Britain with huge economic turmoil, akin to those affecting Greece and Spain, the chairman of JD Wetherspoon said, as he joined 249 other business leaders in openly backing Brexit.

Tim Martin, who founded the pub chain in 1979, said the EU was transferring power away from its member states and handing it to unelected officials in Brussels. As a result, he pointed out, countries like Spain and Greece that are struggling to drag themselves out of an economic downturn had no power over their own budgets and interest rates.