Andrew Bailey: who is the Bank of England governor – and is his job safe?

He has been accused of being asleep at the wheel over inflation, but sacking the Threadneedle Street chief would be a risky step

From safe pair of hands to the government's whipping boy, Andrew Bailey has certainly had a rollercoaster ride as governor of the Bank of England since he was appointed little more than two years ago.

Bailey was handed the keys to Threadneedle Street by Mark Carney just as the first Covid-19 wave was breaking over the global economy. Since then it has been one nasty shock after another for the man long-tipped for the Bank's top job.