Bank of England boss Mark Carney must resign for ‘disgraceful scaremongering’ during the EU referendum campaign, says ex-Chancellor Lord Lawson

OUTSPOKEN Brexiteer and former Chancellor Nigel Lawson has blasted Bank of England governor Mark Carney, saying the sooner he goes the better.

The Conservative peer accused the Canadian of joining in “the chorus of scaremongering” during the EU referendum campaign.

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Lord Lawson said the central bank boss’s fresh warnings about the economy are an attempt to “validate the improper remarks” – despite Britain’s economy being much better than the Project Fear scaremongering suggested.

Before the referendum Carney claimed a vote to leave the EU would trigger a recession.

But after announcing a cut in interest rates from 0.5% to a low of 0.25% at the start of August, and other measures to stimulate the economy, he said the measures had helped Britain recover from the initial post-Brexit vote shock.

And he said the country would narrowly avoid a recession.

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Last night Lord Lawson said the governor was a “doom-monger” and called for him to resign.

Speaking on LBC Radio he said: “He’s behaved disgracefully.

“I have known all six of his predecessors as governor of the Bank of England and not one of them would have thought it proper to behave as he has done, particularly during the campaign when he joined in the chorus of scaremongering.

“He wasn’t the worst but he shouldn’t have joined in it at all.

“Now he is seeking to validate the improper remarks he made during the campaign.

“It is appalling and I think the sooner he stands down from the governorship, the better.”

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Yesterday one of the Bank of England’s rate setters admitted they may have miscalculated the risks to the economy from a vote for Brexit.

Kristin Forbes, one of the experts who helps governor Mark Carney assess the state of the economy each month, said the Bank may need to revise its outlook.

Ms Forbes’ admission is a massive backtrack for the Bank, which argued during the referendum campaign that there were huge risks for house prices, jobs and businesses and Britain might tip into recession if people voted to leave the EU.

The US-born economist, above, also said the economy probably would not need a further cut in interest rates to help bump-start it.

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 The Bank unleashed a three-pronged stimulus programme in August and cut rates to a historic low of 0.25 per cent. A further cut is expected.

Carney was grilled by the Treasury Committee earlier this month about whether he had “over-egged” his grim predictions ahead of the nationwide poll.

But despite warning the country could dip into a recession if it voted to leave the EU, Mr Carney insisted he is “absolutely serene” about everything he said.

It is largely the Bank’s major interventions since the Brexit decision – such as an interest rate cut – that has kept trouble away, the governor argued.