STOP TALKING BRITAIN DOWN!
Bank boss slammed by Boris and Tories for his doom-laden ‘phoney forecasts’
BORIS Johnson yesterday accused the Governor of the Bank of England of ‘talking Britain down’ following yet another doom-laden warning over the risks of Brexit.
His attack on Mark Carney came as four senior Tories – including former party leaders and chancellors – accused the central Bank boss of ‘peddling phoney forecasts’.
In a joint letter, Michael Howard, Nigel Lawson, Norman Lamont and Iain Duncan Smith said the Bank and the Treasury were guilty of ‘startling dishonesty’ for saying cutting ties with Brussels would plunge Britain into a recession.
The attack drew a sharp rebuke from David Cameron, who said it was ‘deeply concerning’ that senior Conservatives were questioning the independence of the Bank of England. But Mr Johnson yesterday said they were right to criticise Mr Carney, who has been accused of politicising the Bank during the referendum campaign.
Yesterday, the Bank issued a fresh warning that the pound would be hit if Britain leaves the EU. But, speaking before the suspension of campaigning yesterday, Mr Johnson hit back: ‘We’re obviously going to be hearing Project Fear moving into its final fusillade.
‘It has failed to make much of an impact because everyone can remember what the PM said only a few months ago when he said Britain would do very well outside of the EU. The pound is roughly where it has been. It is no lower today than it has been in the last few months.
‘I seem to remember the pound fell sharply on the day when I said I was going to support the Leave campaign but we have just seen record employment figures and British exports are doing well.
‘We shouldn’t be talking this country down. It’s a great country and a great economy. I think it will flourish outside the EU.’
In a further attack on the economic credibility of the Remain camp, Mr Johnson joined the 66 Conservative MPs who have attacked George Osborne’s threat of a ‘punishment Budget’.
On the campaign trial in East Anglia yesterday in which he gutted a salmon during a visit to a food company in Lowestoft, the former London mayor described the idea as a ‘fantastical proposition’.
He added: ‘If it were to appear I would certainly not support it, I would oppose it but I don’t think it will.’ In a joint letter yesterday, former Tory leaders Lord Howard and Mr Duncan Smith joined former chancellors Lord Lawson and Lord Lamont in criticising the Bank of England and the Treasury for presenting one-sided forecasts about the impact of Brexit.
They wrote: ‘There has been startling dishonesty in the economic debate, with a woeful failure on the part of the Bank of England, the Treasury and other official sources to present a fair and balanced analysis. They have been peddling phoney forecasts and scare stories to back up the attempts of David Cameron and George Osborne to frighten the electorate into voting Remain.’
In a message on Twitter, Mr Cameron responded: ‘It’s deeply concerning that the Leave campaign is criticising the independent Bank of England. We should listen to experts when they warn us of the dangers to our economy of leaving the European Union.’ The row came as Canadian Mr Carney became embroiled in a furious war of words with senior Tory Bernard Jenkin, who accused him of going ‘way beyond’ his remit in warning that Brexit could spark a ‘technical recession’.
Mr Jenkin, a director of the Vote Leave campaign and chairman of the Commons public administration committee, said legal advice made it clear that the Bank of Eng- land was not allowed to make political interventions during the final few weeks of the EU referendum campaign.
He said Mr Carney had gone ‘way beyond what a Bank governor would normally do in terms of making statements about rate-setting and economic forecasts’. But the Gover- nor hit back, saying Mr Jenkin had a ‘fundamental misunderstanding’ about the independence of the financial institution. He said the Bank had a ‘duty’ to publish its economic forecasts.
In a letter to Mr Jenkin, he wrote: ‘I have not “already made my views known about the question in the forthcoming referendum”. Nor do I intend to share my private opinion other than via the anonymity of the ballot box when I join millions of others to cast my vote.
‘All of the public comments that I, and other Bank officials, have made regarding issues related to the referendum have been limited to factors that affect the Bank’s statutory responsibilities and have been entirely consistent with our remits.
The Bank has a duty to report our evidence-based judgments to Parliament and the public. Indeed that
‘Frighten the electorate’ ‘Way beyond his remit’
responsibility to provide a high level of transparency is enshrined in our remits.’
Leading cooks including Nigel Slater yesterday suggested British cuisine would suffer if the country left the EU. Swiss chef Anton Mosimann and food writer Tom Parker Bowles were also among the 59 who said they did not want to return to the time before ‘foreign’ ingredients, dishes or menus.
In a letter to The Times, they said Britain should remain in the EU to protect the country’s ‘enhanced food and wine culture and standing in the world food league’.
They also praised the influence of foreign chefs and waiters in British dishes as they urged people to vote to Remain. Their letter read: ‘As people... concerned about the cultural, nutritional and environmental effects of our food supply, and especially the quality of our diet, we urge Britons to vote to stay in the EU.’
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