Mark Carney ‘may decide this week’ if he will quit following barrage of post-Brexit criticism

Mr Carney is on a five-year contract that expires in 2018 but has an option to extend the job until 2021

Mark Carney (Getty)

The Governor of the Bank of England may announce his departure this week following a barrage of post-Brexit criticism and heightened tensions with Theresa May’s new Government.

Mark Carney is on a five-year contract that expires in 2018 but has an option to extend the job until 2021, a decision the Bank has said will be made public by the end of this year.

But, it has been suggested that Mr Carney may elaborate on that decision at a press conference for the Bank’s third-quarter inflation report on Thursday, as speculation mounts that he is set to quit.

Mr Carney, who took office in 2013, has been attacked by leading Brexiteers for actively warning of the economic impacts of Brexit in the run up to the EU referendum.

Michael Gove, the former Justice Secretary and one of the leaders of the Leave campaign, launched an attack on Mr Carney, saying he should “curb his arrogance”, while Conservative MP and Eurosceptic Jacob Rees-Mogg described Mr Carney as a “sore loser”, adding: “On every occasion he wants to talk down the economy and find doom and gloom. He never seems to want to recognise the result of the referendum.”

Tensions have increased between the Prime Minister and Mr Carney since her Conservative conference speech in Birmingham, in which she talked about the “bad side effects” of the Bank’s monetary policy and suggested she would change it, despite it being technically beyond her remit.

Mr Carney argued the monetary policy pursued by the Bank in recent years has had a positive impact that is “without parallel”. He has previously said the Bank will not “take instruction” from politicians.

Speaking to a Lords committee on Tuesday, Mr Carney confirmed he would decide by the end of the year about whether he will stay on, adding that any decision would be “entirely personal”.

“No one should read anything into that decision in terms of government policy,” he said.

The job was “an absolute privilege”, he said, but added: “Like everyone I have personal circumstances that I have to manage.

“This is a role that requires total attention, devotion, and I intend to give it for as long as I can. Those are the only factors.”

A Bank of England spokesman said it was not commenting any further on Mr Carney’s remarks, but added there is a “possibility” he may elaborate on Thursday.

Business Secretary Greg Clark defended Mr Carney on Sunday, telling the BBC his future at the bank was “a decision for him”, adding that he had done a "fantastic job".

David Blanchflower, who was a member of the Monetary Policy Committee between 2006 and 2009, said on Twitter it was “utterly ludicrous for Brexiteers to force [Mr Carney] out”, adding it would “only hurt the UK economy”.

Jonathan Reynolds MP, Labour's Shadow Treasury Minister responding to reports of Tory politicians calling for the governor of the Bank of England to resign, said:

“Labour deeply regret the irresponsible behaviour of Tory politicians seeking to undermine the position of Mark Carney.

“They cannot seriously seek to pass responsibility for the underperformance of the economy over the last six years to the Bank of England.

“The Governor's actions helped calm the situation in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, when in contrast the government had no plan at all.

“As John McDonnell said only last week, the operational independence of the Bank of England must be sacrosanct. This behaviour from Tory politicians is deeply irresponsible and only further highlights why it was Labour that decided to give the Bank of England independence.”