Brexit partly to blame for high inflation, says Bank of England economist

Leaving EU ‘plays a part’ in wider economic woes, says Huw Pill

The Union flag and the EU flag (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Archive)

Brexit is partly to blame for high levels of inflation in the UK, the Bank of England’s chief economist has said.

Huw Pill said Britain’s exit from the EU was having an impact on prices, as food inflation surged to 12.4 per cent to hit a new record high during the cost of living crisis.

“Brexit has probably reduced some of the competitive pressure in the goods market, because it just is harder to import things into the UK from Europe … that has probably proved to be somewhat inflationary,” the chief economist told a conference on Wednesday.