Mail Online

Bank boss ‘asleep at the wheel’

By John-Paul Ford Rojas

THE Bank of England governor was accused of being ‘asleep at the wheel’ amid fears further interest rate hikes could tip the UK into recession.

Critics say Andrew Bailey took too long to wake up to the inflation threat and could have spared the need for painful rate increases if he had acted sooner.

However, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he is ‘comfortable’ with the Bank doing what is needed to calm inflation even if it leads to a downturn.

Tory former business secretary Jacob

Rees-Mogg told the Mail yesterday: ‘The Bank of England has been asleep at the wheel. It should be held to account for its failures, which are now leading to higher interest rates for longer than would have been necessary.’

Millions of households are counting the cost of rate hikes which have added hundreds of pounds to mortgage payments.

Figures this week showed inflation falling below 10 per cent for the first time since last summer but, at 8.7 per cent, still proving hard to bring under control. As a result, interest rates are expected to rise to 5.5 per cent this year.

Asked by Sky News whether he was ‘comfortable’ with the Bank doing what was needed even if it would ‘potentially precipitate a recession’, Mr Hunt said: ‘Yes, because in the end, inflation is a source of instability. And if we want to have prosperity, to grow the economy, to reduce the risk of recession, we have to support the Bank of England in the difficult decisions that they take.’ His view appears to have public backing, with a YouGov survey yesterday finding 51 per cent want the Government to focus on bringing down inflation versus 33 per cent saying preventing recession should be a priority.

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2023-05-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-05-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://mailonline.pressreader.com/article/281616719742318

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