Bank of England's Bailey says he will forgo a pay rise again

LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Wednesday he would once again not accept a pay rise if offered one by the British central bank.

"I'm not going to take a pay rise," Bailey said in response to a question from a lawmaker in parliament. "It's not for me to decide but if I were offered one. I will not accept it and I will politely decline as I have before."

Bailey has eschewed a pay rise each year since he took over as governor of the BoE in 2020.

He angered trade unions earlier this year when he said inflation risked getting out of control without restraint on pay, at a time when rising inflation was eating into the spending power of many households.

Bailey was criticised again shortly afterwards when he struggled to answer a question about his own pay - 575,000 pounds ($682,697.50) a year including pension contribution - from a lawmaker.

($1 = 0.8422 pounds)

(Reporting by David Milliken and Kylie MacLellan; Writing by William Schomberg, editing by Andy Bruce)