The Bank of England’s gloomy outlook for the economy has stoked tensions between Gordon Brown and Mervyn King, the Bank’s governor, with senior government officials complaining that the central bank is handing ammunition to the Tories.
There is growing irritation in Downing Street and the Treasury towards Mr King. The prime minister and Alistair Darling, chancellor, have been left fuming by the governor’s interventions, most notably after his downbeat assessment this month of the economic outlook, a viewpoint pounced on by the Conservatives.
