The Treasury slams the Bank of England over plan to abolish the penny and copper coins from circulation

THE Treasury launched a withering slap down of the Bank of England, telling Sun readers the penny is “going nowhere”.

After the BofE launched a fresh bid to see beloved coppers scrapped from circulation, the Exchequer Minister blasted them as of touch with Brits.

Robert Jenrick told The Sun: “Our coins are more than units of currency, they are symbols of our identity and links to our past and we appreciate the attachment many feel to the penny.”

He spoke out during a visit to the Royal Mint in a Llantrisant, Wales after the Bank - who are meant to only advise Ministers on notes - said any economic hit from scrapping 1p and 2p coins would be minimal.

The Bank of England issued a blog post on Wednesday claiming there are very few products priced at ending in 99p.

They said even if all retailers rounded up prices to the nearest 5p, inflation would only go up by 0.07 per cent.

Their economists added that the "overwhelming weight of literature and experience" indicates that retiring the coins will have “no significant impact on prices”.

But hitting back, Mr Jenrick said: “We want to ensure the UK is at the forefront of technology such as contactless, but we see coins and notes continuing long into the future and want to protect access to them, particularly in rural and hard to serve areas of the country.”

The latest row over the fate of the penny follows a call for evidence from the Treasury in March over whether they were still needed.

But it was swiftly ditched after a public outcry and a campaign to save the Penny led by The Sun.

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