Bank of England governor snubs govt, speaks his mind on Brexit

LONDON: Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, on Thursday insisted that the apex bank had a duty in making its position known on the risks of Britain leaving

LONDON: Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, on Thursday insisted that the apex bank had a duty in making its position known on the risks of Britain leaving the European Union, after a senior law-maker asked him to refrain from commenting on the referendum.

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Besides responding to criticism by Bernard Jenkin of the Vote Leave camp in a personal three-page letter, the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said the outcome of the June 23 referendum “continues to be the largest immediate risk facing UK’s financial markets, and possibly also global financial markets”.

Jenkin, who is also chairman of the Public Affairs and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee of parliament, wrote a letter to Carney, noting that officials were required to ref rain from publicly commenting in the run-up to the referendum.

Carney insisted that recent comments related to the referendum by him and the bank were consistent with the bank’s remit and statutory responsibilities. He went on to advise Jenkin to consult public records on the matter before writing to him.

T he MPC said after its Thursday meeting: “As the Committee set out last month, the most significant risks to the MPC’s forecast concern the referendum. A vote to leave the EU could materially alter the outlook for output and inflation, and therefore the appropriate setting of monetary policy”.

“Through financial market and confidence channels, there are also risks of adverse spill-overs to the global economy,” it added.