Bumper cars and laser tag at Bank of England's 'lavish' £100k bash amid Brexit fallout

Under fire: The Bank spent nearly £100,000 at a summer party as Britain struggled following the vote to leave the EU
PA
Jamie Bullen18 December 2016

Bumper cars and laser tag were enjoyed at a “lavish” summer shindig by Bank of England staff which cost the taxpayer £100,000 while Britain reeled from the Brexit vote.

Details have emerged of the activities enjoyed by Governor Mark Carney and the Bank’s 2,500 staff at the controversial bash in July.

Entertainment included a bouncy castle, climbing wall, fairground, magic show, paddling pool at the sports ground in Roehampton.

The party, which was held two weeks after Britain’s decision to leave the EU, was branded a “slap in the face” as the value of the pound plummeted in the wake of the vote.

Activity: Laser tag was one of the entertainment forms at the party 

The activities were disclosed as part of a freedom of information request after the Bank said more than £94,500 was spent on food, entertainment and the venue with £4,500 additional costs such as transport.

It comes as Mr Carney warned Brits to brace for an inflation shock next year with an expected surge in the cost of living which is set to outpace wage growth.

The Governor has faced increasing political pressure amid complaints he went too far in warning of the economic dangers of Brexit in order to bolster Remain during the referendum campaign.

He was even subjected to calls for his resignation after the Bank controversially warned Brexit could tip the UK into recession ahead of the vote, only to have since rowed back on its gloomy predictions.

The Bank has insisted it "carefully budgeted" for the its summer party.

It said the Governors' Day was 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".

Canadian Mr Carney has revamped the annual fete since taking over from predecessor Lord King, ditching the traditional cricket match in 2014 in favour of a game of rounders.

This year's event also saw party-goers take part in a fun run, swimming, squash, snooker, trampolining and various other "sporting activities and tournaments", according to the Bank.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in