Mervyn King confident in Bank of England's growth forecast but says economy is still poor

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King defended the central bank's forecasts today but warned that the economy would be "far from normal" for some time.

Economists have criticised the strong pace of growth predicted in the Bank's recent inflation reports as over-optimistic, but King said "some commentators have found it hard to grasp the subtleties of our forecasts".

He stressed that Britain would take a "considerable period" to return to the pre-recession level of output.

Recent inflation reports have included forecasts showing levels of output - not just growth rates - to get across the "big picture" of the economy's recovery, King said.

He told a Royal Society conference in London: "The reality is that, even if growth rebounds, the level of activity is still very likely to remain weak for a considerable period compared to the peak at the start of 2008.

"The economic environment is likely to continue to feel far from normal for some time. After all, it is ultimately the level of activity, rather than its growth rate, that matters for employment and the degree of inflationary pressure."