Bank of England spent £100K on summer party as country grappled with Brexit vote

Pic:The Governor of the Bank of England 
Business reporter(wp/es):

The Bank of England spent almost £100,000 of public money on its annual summer party at a time when the country was reeling from the Brexit vote, it has been revealed. 

A fortnight after the UK voted to leave the European Union,governor Mark Carney and around 2,500 Bank staff and their families partied at the annual summer sports day, spending £99,035 of tax payers' money. 

The Bank said it "carefully budgeted" for the Governors' Day party on July 10 which was held at its sports grounds in Roehampton, south west London. 

But details of its party spending come at an already difficult time for the Bank, with Mr Carney under political fire amid complaints he went too far in warning of the economic dangers of Brexit in order to bolster Remain during the referendum campaign.

Mr Carney has faced calls to resign after the Bank controversially warned Brexit could tip the UK into recession ahead of the vote, only to have rowed back on its gloomy predictions - most recently upgrading its forecasts for growth this year and next.

Costs of the Bank's summer party can be revealed following a Freedom of Information request by the Press Association.

The Bank said it spent more than £94,500 excluding VAT on food, entertainment and the venue for the summer event, with nearly another £4,500 on "other" costs.

The TaxPayers' Alliance branded revelations over the Bank's summer party as a "huge slap in the face to all those who have struggled under the Bank of England's policies".

Chief executive John O'Connell said: "Not only have savers had very little to celebrate over the last eight years because of rock bottom interest rates, but many will rightly be angry that staff are then spending huge sums of money on lavish parties for themselves.

"It would be right to consider these sensitivities when planning any future function."

The Bank said the Governors' Day is a "long-held tradition that is open to all employees - including members of the Monetary Policy Committee - including their families, with the aim of recognising their hard work and dedication".

It added: "The annual event is an important one for all Bank employees and the Bank strongly believes that this carefully budgeted event is worthwhile."