EXCLUSIVE: Speaking about Brexit in Dublin, Andrew Bailey said the UK “should do all we can to minimise negative effects on trade”.

Andrew Bailey and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Image: GETTY)

Andrew Bailey’s public endorsement of Sir Keir Starmer’s efforts to align the UK more closely with the EU represents a “disgraceful political intervention” on the part of the Bank of England governor, a UK-based financial expert has claimed. Bob Lyddon was commenting on remarks made by Mr Bailey in Dublin on Thursday, when he welcomed the Government’s efforts to forge closer ties with Brussels while stressing the importance of officials working to “minimise” the effects of Brexit on trade.

Mr Lyddon, founder of Lyddon Consulting Services and a prominent advocate of Britain’s decision to quit the bloc, was deeply unimpressed. He told Express.co.uk: “This is a disgraceful political intervention by a state official who is meant to be independent. He disingenuously denies this: he falls back on independence when it suits, and breaches it as it suits.

Andrew Bailey was speaking in Dublin on Thursday (Image: Getty)

“But then he enjoys protection from the other members of his Establishment club. He is not an expert in international trade. He simply regurgitates the tropes of the Remain/Rejoin side, such as the phrase ‘the damage caused by Brexit‘, without feeling he needs to prove that it is true.”

Mr Bailey appeared to have taken his cues from the 2024 Labour Party manifesto, Mr Lyddon suggested.

In doing so he was “emphasising the EU as a sort of safe haven between Putin and Trump, and characterising Sir Keir’s approach as a “a first step towards properly resetting the UK’s relationship with the EU, which means rejoining it”.

Mr Lyddon continued: “Bailey is one of the Establishment cabal now repeating the same message, whether it be individuals like Alasdair Campbell, Rory Stewart, and Ed Davey, or organisations like the CBI and UK Finance.

“The message is that the UK would be better off nestling inside the ‘rules-based international order’ (meaning rules set by the EU in line with the diktats of the United Nations, World Economic Forum, International Monetary Fund, Bank for International Settlements et al). These are rules set by Bailey and his peer group, of course including Mark Carney.

“It is a pure power-play by the global Liberal-Left Establishment – our new aristocracy – against the voter and the ballot box.”

The UK was currently being subjected to a “counter-revolution” which the Establishment was hoping to completed before the 2029 General Election, Mr Lyddon claimed.

During his speech, Mr Bailey said in relation to Brexit “that we should do all we can to minimise negative effects on trade”.

With reference to the Windsor Framework, which he described as a “welcome step forward”, Mr Bailey added: “So too are the initiatives of the current UK Government to rebuild trade between the UK and EU.”

He added: “This brings me to Brexit. I have to start with an important disclaimer. As a public servant, I take no position on Brexit per se – it was a decision of the British people, and has been put into effect.

“That said, our evolving trading and regulatory relationship with the EU requires many judgements on the most effective way to do so – what delivers the most effective outcome.”

The Windsor Framework, agreed between the UK and the EU in 2023, amended the Northern Ireland Protocol and governs post-Brexit trading arrangements in the region.

Last week, the Government announced a deal with the European bloc which gives UK tourists in Europe easier access to passport e-gates, and frees up trade with the continent for farmers and food producers because of alignment on veterinary and plant standards.

It was also said that the UK and EU will work more closely together on defence and security, and will agree a “youth experience scheme” allowing young British people to travel and work on the continent.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (Image: Getty)

Sir Keir Starmer said at the time the deal was announced that it is “time to look forward, to move on from the stale old debates and political fights”.

In an interview with the BBC earlier this month – before the deal was struck with the EU – Mr Bailey said that it would be “beneficial” to reverse the post-Brexit reduction in UK-EU trade.

He said: “It is important we do everything we can to ensure that whatever decisions are taken on the Brexit front do not damage the long-term trade position.

“So I hope that we can use this to start to rebuild that relationship.”

Express.co.uk has contacted Mr Bailey via the Bank of England for comment about Mr Lyddon’s remarks.