Tory MP, Brexit campaigner accuses Carney of becoming ‘politically involved’ over Brexit
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has hit back at critics of Threadneedle Street’s warnings over Brexit, arguing that voters wanted to weigh up the economic risks of a vote to leave the European Union.
In heated exchanges at a parliamentary select committee on Tuesday, Carney told MPs the BoE had a responsibility to the British people “who don’t want risks kept from them”.
The governor rebutted criticism from pro-Brexit Tory MPs Jacob Rees-Mogg and Steve Baker that the bank was wrong to pass judgment on the economic impact of leaving the EU.
Rees-Mogg, who has previously called for Carney to resign over his Brexit warnings, renewed his attacks, calling the BoE a “creature of the government”.
He said he was concerned that the Bank has succumbed to pressure from the chancellor to highlight the risks of a Brexit and downplay the potential benefits of a vote to leave, while Baker accused it of producing flawed economic forecasts.
Rees-Mogg accused Carney of becoming “politically involved”. He responded: “I don’t think that’s worth replying to.”
At a previous Treasury select committee hearing in March, Rees-Mogg accused Carney of jeopardising the bank’s reputation for “Olympian detachment” by emphasising the pros but not the cons of EU membership.
