Mr Martin has long been a controversial figure in the hospitality sector, not least because of his views on Brexit. Having seen Britons vote Leave in 2016, Mr Martin went on to voice outrage over the various concessions and stalls that transpired over the following years. In 2019, while negotiations were ongoing and a Brexit trade deal had not yet been secured, Mr Martin called on the Government to deploy business professionals in any future negotiations.

       Likening the situation to the Millennium bug - the prediction that computer networks would wreak havoc at the turn of the century - he told talkRADIO: "Brexit is a little bit like the millennium bug, this idea that if you don't have a trade deal with the EU it will go to hell in a handcart.

       "Or indeed that you must have a deal with the US. That's just not the way it works.

       "We heard the planes were not going to fly without an overarching deal, in fact, a mini-deal has been done and even Ryanair, who are massively pro-Remain, say it is no longer an issue.

       "We heard the banks were going to leave and pretty well people are now saying it is no longer an issue - there are more people employed in the City than there were at the time of the referendum.

       "We have done lots of deals with people around the world. We never believed for a second that the ports were going to block up in Dover.

       "But we said ‘let’s just assume they do, what would we do?' So we switched from French Brandy to Australian and American Brandy and we switched from Champagne to sparkling wine from the UK.

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       "All these mini-deals can get done. I am almost more worried about some boffin from Whitehall trying to do a deal for the whole country, you are better off to leave it to Wetherspoons to organise a deal for Brandy, to Ryanair to organise the planes to fly, and so on.

       "Let the individuals organise the trade, rather than try and have big brother from Government organise it.

       You don’t actually need a massive deal with the EU.

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       "If they want to have zero tariffs, I think that would be more beneficial to them than us, then let’s put it on a one-page document - we won’t charge each other tariffs."

       This evening, a documentary takes a look behind the scenes of Mr Martin's Wetherspoons empire.

       Channel 5's, 'Wetherspoons: How Do They Do It?', will chart the rise of the pub chain and detail how it gained ground on its rivals by being cheaper, quicker and more responsive to customer demands.

       Some of its "secret" tactics will also be revealed, like its cheap deals on food and drink and opening for longer.

       Wetherspoons: How Do They Do It? airs on Channel 5 at 8pm tonight.