The Bank of England’s chief economist has urged Britons to “accept” they are poorer post-pandemic.

Huw Pill also warned that inflation risks remaining stubbornly high as he echoed warnings from governor Andrew Bailey that large wage and further cost increases damage the Bank’s efforts to cool inflation.

“You don’t need to be much of an economist to realise that if what you’re buying has gone up a lot relative to what you’re selling, you’re going to be worse off,” he said on the Beyond Unprecedented: The Post-Pandemic Economy podcast.

“So, somehow in the UK, someone needs to accept that they’re worse off.”