Captain hoping to fly high with Brexit Party

The 64-year-old commercial pilot had been selected by the Brexit Party as its parliamentary candidate for the Walsall North constituency where he grew up, a decision which he says left him "pretty shocked".

It marked a new and largely unexpected chapter in the life of Captain Petty, who flew Vulcans during a 9-year stint in the RAF before embarking on a career with one of the world's major airlines that has lasted more than three decades.

"I never had any ambitions to go into politics, never been involved in campaigning and never even tried to be a union rep, so I'll admit it was a surprise when I was selected," he tells me.

"I thought to myself that I'm not going to get anywhere just by writing the odd letter to the newspapers or my MP. Like a lot of people, the EU referendum really exercised my mind. I could see that democracy was in danger."

Born in Darlaston, Mr Petty grew up on the Mossley estate in Bloxwich.

He pulled pints in the Excelsior working men's club and helped out serving customers in his dad's chip van, before a couple of years working in a bank in Wolverhampton preceded him joining the RAF.

After leaving the RAF he became a commercial pilot, flying Boeing 747s around the world and living what he describes as "a comfortable life".

He says he's been a Brexiteer from long before the term was coined, believing that Britain is under threat of being "swallowed up" by an EU that he says is intent on becoming an overpowering force.

And it was his belief that Remainer MPs have been attempting to "subvert" democracy since the EU referendum that led to him seeking out a new political home.

Mr Petty, who has always voted Conservative, attended a Brexit Party rally at the ICC and liked what he saw. "There were no swivel-eyed loons there," he said.

"People were just like me... angry that their democratic voice was being taken away."

He joined the party and put himself forward as a candidate, finally getting the nod last month after a grilling from party officials during the selection process.

The father-of-two, whose son is a Remainer – "he lives down south, so he would be," he says – insists he is committed to "breaking the umbilical chord" tying the UK to the EU.

He supports a no-deal Brexit, rubbishing "outrageous" claims that it will lead to food and fuel shortages and claiming such a departure is precisely what Leavers voted for in the referendum.

"It was a "simple 'yes' or 'no' question and 17.4 million people voted to leave," he said.

"Now the politicians have added the bit about a deal, knowing full well that the terms of our departure were never an issue.

"To me what they call a 'hard Brexit' is just Brexit. Any so-called deal that leaves us tied to the rules and regulations of the EU means we haven't left.

"No-deal has become the big horror, a term that is regularly linked with the word 'catastrophic'. John McDonnell, Jo Swinson, Dominic Grieve, Philip Hammond... they all use it.

"That message has got out there, along with the one about people who are Leavers being ignorant, not well educated and racist.

"I think it's an absolute disgrace."

Mr Petty said he understands concerns that his party could split the Leave vote in a general election, potentially blocking Brexit altogether.

He said he hoped British people had more sense than to allow the "horrific" prospect of Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister to turn into a reality.

But he insisted that despite the Government "apparently heading towards Brexit" under Boris Johnson, the Brexit Party had a crucial role to play in ensuring it was finally delivered.

"If he gets us out of the EU then Boris Johnson will have lanced the boil, but that does not necessarily mean voters will go flocking back to the Tories," Mr Petty said.

"In a constituency like Walsall North, the people will punish the Tories and Labour if Brexit is not delivered. We are there to provide a proper alternative."

He said he fears the EU is "clinging on" to the hope that Britain will remain part of the bloc.

"I'm proud of my country. I love the history of it," he says. "I don't want us to be subsumed in one great big European state.

"When we joined the common market I thought it was purely a trading set up, but it has become obvious over the years that the politicians in charge are intent on ever closer ties. I don't think that's a good idea. I don't want Britain to disappear.

"That probably makes me sound like some sort of Captain Mainwaring, but I'm not."

He said he expects the Brexit Party to be around for the foreseeable future, with the party formulating policies in advance of a general election campaign.

"Ukip withered away because after the referendum everyone thought that was it, job done, we are out," he said. "At the time we didn't realise the deviousness of our MPs. Nigel Farage won't make the same mistake again.

"Flying has been my life. It is all I ever wanted to do from when I was a little boy.

"But I can't be a bystander while our democracy is being taken away from us."