THE founder of a national pub chain delivered an impassioned speech at a Barrow pub as he argued the case for a no deal Brexit.

Wetherspoons chairman Tim Martin called into the Furness Railway last night as part of a whistle-stop tour of his pubs to dispel what he says are myths relating to the prospect of leaving the European Union on March 29 if no withdrawal agreement is reached.

He was forced to raise his voice and heighten his passion after the microphone failed to work which led to one bemused audience member to declare: “We can make submarines but not microphones”.

Mr Martin believes the UK should leave the EU without a deal. He argued that the UK should not pay the £39bn likely to be included in the deal as a severance payment.

“The EU is becoming increasingly undemocratic,” he told the packed pub.

“The EU has five unelected presidents. You may not like Donald Trump but he is up for re-election in two years. We didn’t vote for President Juncker; that’s not democratic.”

He labelled the EU a “regime” and said claims of disruption to air travel and the UK’s ports are a “myth”.

However, he added that he was “confident that goods will flow through the ports”.

“Theresa May’s deal keeps us in the customs union which in my opinion is not leaving the EU,” he said.

He criticised those calling for a second referendum on the deal and said: “We weren’t asked to vote to leave or not subject to a deal.”

Mr Martin argued that, if necessary, the UK could simply choose to buy products typically imported from the EU elsewhere.

His suggestion of opting for non-European products is one he has taken to heart.

In June 2018 he announced that Wetherspoons would stop selling products from the European mainland with the example of Prosecco and Champagne being replaced by non-European wines.

After his speech Mr Martin took questions from the audience including a suggestion from one who said those fighting to stop Brexit should be “charged with treason”.