Inside Business

The Bank of England governor has tried to clarify his comments on wages after facing criticism, writes James Moore

Bank of England boss Andrew Bailey said the UK has suffered an external shock as a result of soaring wholesale energy prices

(PA)

The Bank of England’s governor Andrew Bailey has been on the defensive ever since he told workers not to ask for a pay rise. Sorry, ever since he said he wanted to see “restraint in pay bargaining”.

Small wonder. Comments like that from a man earning £576,000, including pension, were never going to go down well at a time when increasing numbers of Britons are struggling to afford the basics.

Bailey seemed reluctant to quote that figure when it was compared to the median average wage in the UK (about £31,000) and the average wage for a care worker (£19,000) at a hearing of the Treasury Committee.