‘You have to squeeze optimism out of Carney’

BANK of England boss Mark Carney faced fierce criticism from Leave campaigners yesterday after delivering yet another gloomy forecast of Britain’s economy after Brexit.

The Governor’s speech on the UK’s financial future was described by economist Gerard Lyons as ‘unbalanced’.

He said the bank chief ‘almost blamed Brexit for everything’, adding that ‘one almost had to squeeze out of him reasons to be optimistic’. Mr Lyons, a former adviser to Boris Johnson, told BBC’s Newsnight on Thursday that it was hard to detect any positives about the future of the British economy.

He said: ‘Quite frankly, even though he was very cautious, one almost had to squeeze out of him reasons to be optimistic.’

Mr Carney painted a mixed picture of the economy, warning that the ‘speed limit has slowed’ following the Brexit vote, despite admitting that unemployment was at a 4 -year low and the financial system was now ‘rock solid’.