Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, has said that there is strong evidence that some retailers are overcharging customers.

In an interview with the BBC Bailey said that evidence of overcharging was adding to pressure on the retail sector, with the UK experiencing the highest inflation rate amongst comparably sized economies. Bailey told the outlet that regulatory moves to address the surge in price growth would help to lower inflation.

Inflation in the UK hit a 41-year high in October 2022 of 11.1 per cent, and held at 8.7 per cent in May. It is more than double the rate of inflation in the US and significantly higher than the euro zone.

The BoE governor also doubled-down on the central bank’s position that it had to act now to bring down inflation or risk further pain from high interest rates in the future. Bailey however declined to suggest when borrowing costs might fall, noting “that really depends upon what happens over the period of time ahead, but getting inflation down is the most important thing that we have to do.”

He added: "It (inflation) has already started to come down and I expect ... quite a marked fall in inflation, we'll notice it. What we have to do is set the interest rate to get it all the way down to 2%."

Finance minister Jeremy Hunt last week met with regulators to discuss ways to ensure that consumers are not overpaying and that those struggling to make payments receive help.

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