Mark Carney defends Bank of England procedures after resignation of deputy

Mark Carney has publicly defended the Bank of England's governance procedures after deputy governor Charlotte Hogg was forced to resign last week for failing to declare her brother works for Barclays.

The governor said, while Ms Hogg's breach of conduct was an "honest mistake", the Bank took a "tougher response" than would be expected in the private sector, having given her a formal warning and reassigning her chief operating officer duties.

"For those who have questioned whether we 'get it', we do.

"We know this honest mistake was also a serious mistake, one that was compounded by the fact that Charlotte Hogg had overseen the development of our new code.

"We were clear upfront that there must be consequences for both her and the Bank," the governor said during a Banking Standards Board panel in London, marking his first public comments since Ms Hogg resigned last week.

Mr Carney explained independent directors of the Bank's Court have also launched a "widespread review" and "reconfigured reporting lines and internal structures to improve governance.

"Consistent with our higher standards, the Bank planned a tougher response than we would expect in the private sector, but one that, in our judgment, was still proportionate to an honest mistake that was freely and transparently admitted," Mr Carney said.

Ms Hogg stepped down less than a fortnight into the role after coming under heavy fire for breaking the Bank's code of conduct by not declaring the conflict of interest.

However, she will remain at the Bank for up to three months for "transition purposes", according to the Bank.