Theresa May refuses to back down after backlash over 'Citizens of Nowhere' jibe

Theresa May today refused to back down from her “Citizens of Nowhere” jibe that reportedly angered Bank of England governor Mark Carney.

The Prime Minister also defended criticism she made about the Bank’s policy of quantitative easing, which she blamed for deepening inequality.

As she arrived in Delhi on her first international trade mission, Mrs May stood by the comments made in her keynote address to the Conservative conference last month.

She shook her head repeatedly when it was put to her that Mr Carney and other members of London’s international community of business leaders and bankers had felt they were under attack, and insisted people who come to the UK must accept “responsibilities” and the “role they play in local communities”.

“I believe that businesses operating in the UK, as UK businesses operating in other countries, have responsibilities within those countries, which is what I have been talking about in terms of, for example, payment of tax,” she said. Asked whom she meant by the term Citizens of Nowhere, Mrs May said: “What I was talking about was the importance of people recognising the role that they play in local communities and the responsibility they have in any country they are operating in to abide by the rules and pay their tax.”

On her criticism of the consequences of the quantitative easing, or the electronic printing of money, Mrs May conceded that it had been “necessary” after the 2008 crash, but she did not retreat from her previous comments.

“What I said in that speech was that I think we need to recognise the impact of decisions that have been taken — necessary decisions that have been taken in the monetary field,” she said.

“The Bank of England is independent, they make these decisions as to what is necessary, and it is right that they do so.”

Mr Carney, a Canadian who was educated at Harvard University in America, was reported to have been concerned by the conference speech, which some claimed broke the cardinal rule that the Bank sets monetary policy without interference.