BOE Policy Makers Never Pushed Brexit Project Fear, Fried Says

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Bank of England policy makers didn’t overstep their remit by publishing details of the potential economic damage caused by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, according to the head of the central bank’s governing body, Bradley Fried.

In a response to questions from Parliament’s Treasury Committee Wednesday, Fried defended officials, saying that the group that oversees the three-century old BOE had reviewed all of its communications and found no evidence that it had waded too far into politics.

“The bank was not pushing Project Fear then, it has never pushed Project Fear, it is not pushing Project Fear now. The politics of any individual policy maker is utterly and completely irrelevant. The decisions taken by the policy committees have never been whimsical, they’ve never been based on politics, they’re based on rigorous analysis and careful consideration. They are not taken individually, they’re taken by a committee of serious people who have to ensure the financial system would be resilient to whatever form of Brexit transpires.”

The BOE has faced intense criticism for their communications and forecasts around and since the 2016 referendum, as well as accusations of scaremongering, including from former governor Mervyn King.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lucy Meakin in London at lmeakin1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Brian Swint

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