UK's Hunt: We must support Bank of England on inflation reduction - Sky

Britain's government must support the Bank of England's decisions on interest rates, finance minister Jeremy Hunt told Sky News in an interview broadcast on Friday, saying there could be no trade-off between cutting inflation and the risk of provoking a recession. But it is not a trade-off between tackling inflation and recession.

Britain's government must support the Bank of England's decisions on interest rates, finance minister Jeremy Hunt told Sky News in an interview broadcast on Friday, saying there could be no trade-off between cutting inflation and the risk of provoking a recession. Asked by Sky News whether he was comfortable with the BoE doing whatever was needed to bring down inflation, even if that could cause a recession, he said: "Yes, because in the end, inflation is a source of instability."

"If we want to have prosperity, if we want to grow the economy, if we want to reduce the risk of recession, we have to support the Bank of England in the difficult decisions that they take." British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in January pledged to halve inflation by the end of the year, but data released this week showed the rate of price rises remaining stubbornly high at 8.7% and measures of underling inflation rising.

Asked again about the risk of rate hikes causing a recession Hunt said: "We will deliver this task and we will make sure that the government plays its part, the Bank of England plays its part. But it is not a trade-off between tackling inflation and recession. In the end the only path to sustainable growth is to bring down inflation."