Don't tell me how to do my job: Bank of England boss issues extraordinary warning to Theresa May after she said his policies had damaged the interests of savers, pensioners and the young

• .Mark Carney hit back angrily at the Prime Minister's claims that his policies had damaged the interest of savers, pensioners and the young
• .He vowed to resist interference from Mrs May in setting interest rates or monetary policy
• .Mrs May had warned about 'bad side effects' of the Bank's policies
• .Mr Carney is said to have complained to Chancellor Philip Hammond, who advised Mrs May not to threaten the Bank’s independence 

By JASON GROVES AND JAMES BURTON FOR THE DAILY MAIL

The Governor of the Bank of England last night issued an extraordinary warning to Theresa May to stop telling him how to do his job.

In an unprecedented intervention, Mark Carney hit back angrily at the Prime Minister’s claim this month that his policies had damaged the interests of savers, pensioners and the young.

And he stressed he would resist any interference from Mrs May in setting interest rates or monetary policy.

+3

Mark Carney hit back angrily at the Prime Minister’s claim this month that his policies had damaged the interests of savers, pensioners and the young

‘Politicians have done a very good job of setting up the system,’ he said. ‘Where it can be difficult sometimes is if there are political comments on our policies as opposed to political comments on our objectives. 

'The objectives are what are set by the politicians. The policies are done by technocrats. We are not going to take instruction on our policies from the political side.’

His comments came in response to Mrs May’s Tory conference speech, in which she warned the Bank’s policy of printing money was creating ‘bad side-effects’ for pensioners, savers and the young. 

The PM seemed to warn Mr Carney against fresh rounds of so-called quantitative easing, and further interest rate cuts, adding: ‘A change has got to come.’ 

+3

Mr Carney is said to have complained to Chancellor Philip Hammond after he was apparently criticised by Prime Minister Theresa May

Mr Carney is said to have complained to Chancellor Philip Hammond, who advised Mrs May not to threaten the Bank’s independence. 

DAILY MAIL COMMENT 

Those who remember Mark Carney’s outpourings in the run-up to the EU referendum may have been surprised at his assertion yesterday that he was not going to ‘take instruction’ from politicians.

Throughout the campaign, the Bank of England Governor seemed to be virtually taking dictation from former Chancellor George Osborne, backing his Project Fear predictions and endorsing his warning that ‘a vote to leave the EU would represent a profound shock to our economy’.

We now know, of course, that not only did this scaremongering fail to materialise but the economic news since the Brexit vote has been much better than forecast.

It was obvious Mr Carney’s remarks were a petulant swipe at Prime Minister Theresa May, who this month at Tory conference criticised his policy of printing money and keeping interest rates low, saying: ‘A change has got to come.’

For the sake of the British economy and the integrity of the Bank of England, perhaps that change should come sooner rather than later. 

Mr Hammond also publicly suggested Mr Carney’s term of office should be extended.

Downing Street declined to comment last night. But Government sources pointed out that many senior figures, including some at the Bank had also voiced concerns about quantitative easing. 

The row came as Mr Carney warned that the post-Brexit fall in the pound was likely to increase food prices, which would hit poorest families hardest.

The costs of many goods and services are expected to rise after sterling’s 17 per cent slide against the dollar. 

This is a boon to British industry as it makes exports much cheaper and more competitive. But it also makes imports such as food and fuel more costly.

Mr Carney indicated that the Bank would not necessarily hike up interest rates to ensure inflation does not rise above the two per cent target set by the Government.

He was willing to let inflation run ‘a bit’ higher if it safeguarded jobs and boosted economic growth. 

Mr Carney was criticised in the referendum campaign for stoking fears that Brexit would cause a downturn before the result, and the interest rate was slashed amid warnings of potential disaster.

Speaking in Birmingham yesterday, he said the Bank’s August rate cuts and money-printing helped protect as many as 500,000 jobs.