Pub chain JD Wetherspoon is to put beer mats calling for Britain to leave the European Union (EU) in all 920 of its pubs across the UK.
The mats will carry a message singed by company chairman Tim Martin, comparing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – who have warned against Brexit – to scandal-hit global football body FIFA.
The message, addressed to IMF chief Christine Lagarde, asks why British voters should trust her when she is “due to stand trial in France for your part in authorising a €400 payment by the French state to Bernard Tapie – a supporter of your political party”.
“This follows the resignation, in disgrace, of your predecessor at the IMF – Dominique Strauss-Khan,” it adds.
The reverse of the beer mat goes on to say: “Is the governance of the IMF better than FIFA’s? Did anyone elect you? Why is Greece in such trouble after six years of IMF advice? Has the IMF warned the Eurozone that no currency, in history, has survived without a single government?”
Announcing the launch of the beer mats, Mr Martin said: “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.
“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.
“Christine Lagarde’s integrity and her bona fides as a national advisor, as well as that of the IMF, are a legitimate and important concern.”