Interest rate pain is consequence of Brexit, says former Bank of England governor

Current financial woes ‘bear out warnings of Remain side in EU referendum’

The pain of soaring interest rates and inflation is a knock-on effect of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said.

Mr Carney said that Thursday’s decision by the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to hike its base rate to a 33-year high of 3 per cent was in part forced on it by Brexit.

The rise – which will add hundreds of pounds to monthly mortgage bills – came as the Bank forecast as much as eight successive quarters of recession in the UK, stretching into 2024 in what could be the longest sustained downturn for a century.