Bank under fire for secrecy

UK TREASURY select committee chairman Andrew Tyrie MP has criticised the Bank of England for refusing to disclose minutes relating to its handling of the financial crisis.

He said he was “disappointed” that the bank’s directors, known as the court, had turned down his request for the minutes using the Freedom of Information Act, which had “no bearing on what parliament may need to hold other bodies to account”.

He added: “Our forthcoming report on accountability of the bank will make proposals on how future cases can be more appropriately handled.”

The bank did provide details of its own investigation into its dealings with Northern Rock, which will be published today.

The review was carried out “as part of normal court business”.