‘Scaremonger’ Carney angers senior Tories

BORIS Johnson yesterday accused the Governor of the Bank of England of ‘talking Britain down’ following yet another doomladen warning over 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, saying: ‘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’.

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.

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’.

But the Governor hit back, saying Mr Jenkin had a ‘fundamental misunderstanding’ about the independence of the financial institution. He said the Bank was obliged to publish its economic forecasts.

In a letter to Mr Jenkin, he wrote: ‘The Bank has a duty to report our evidencebased judgments to Parliament and the public. Indeed that responsibility to provide a high level of transparency is enshrined in our remits.’

Comment – Page 18

‘Project Fear moving into its final fusillade’