Bank of England lacked access to data to help with Covid-19 response – governor

Andrew Bailey said he spoke to former chancellor Rishi Sunak ‘daily’ at the height of the pandemic (UK Covid-19 Inquiry/PA) - (PA Media)

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said the central bank was restricted from accessing some Government data during the Covid-19 pandemic which could have helped it respond to the economic crisis.

Mr Bailey told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry that policymakers would have benefited from having easier sight of data, such as universal credit.