Founder Tim Martin prints 200,000 beer mats calling for UK to leave EU, taking particular aim at Christine Lagarde and the IMF

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The question of whether Britain should vote to leave the EU next month is bound to be a hot topic in pubs and bars up and down the country for the next few weeks.

On Tuesday, it emerged that pub chain JD Wetherspoon has printed 200,000 beer mats bearing what the company’s boss says is a hard-hitting message arguing for the UK to leave the EU.

The beer mats will be available in the company’s 920 pubs across the UK in the run-up to the 23 June referendum.

The message draws attention to governance issues with senior staff at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and asks why UK voters should trust the views of its managing director, Christine Lagarde, who has voiced her support for the remain group.

The beer mat has a message on both sides, which is signed by Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin, a strong believer in leaving the EU.

Martin said: “The governance issues within the IMF, are, in my opinion, very serious for UK citizens.

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“The government has paraded a number of financial institutions in front of the public, who have, in my view, grossly distorted our financial prospects in the event of a Brexit.

“Corporate governance at the IMF is clearly out of control and Christine Lagarde would have been obliged to resign at any normal plc or institution until the matters in question were resolved.

“The UK public have been asked to rely on her comments by both George Osborne and David Cameron in the forthcoming referendum and she must now answer the questions on the beer mats and others that the public may have.”