Wetherspoon bans euro as nonsense

A BRITISH pub chain has banned the euro on the grounds that the currency is "a complete nonsense".

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said of the euro: "Its predecessor, the exchange rate mechanism, caused economic havoc in Great Britain and Europe.

"You can't have one interest rate for so many diverse economies without chaos, and history shows you can't have a single currency without a single government."

The pub chain has started accepting French francs, US dollars and travellers' cheques from customers at its 11 pubs in Kent.

But while these pubs will continue to add to the range of currencies they accept in response to future demand, the euro will remain banned.

Martin said: "Our managers are regularly asked by customers if they can pay with dollars or francs, as well as other currencies. However, they have not had one single request from a customer wishing to pay with euros. The euro is a complete nonsense."