Here’s what he had to say:

• Economics in the UK is dull. But that's the way we should like it. We've got the financial Holy Trinity of low interest rates, low inflation and growth (62 quarters and counting)

• The UK economy has got ahead of itself rather than overheated because of consumer spending and big investment in public services

• UK economic performance/GDP is still very strong and the current scenario will not derail it

• Recession is highly unlikely because fine tuning of the strings (principally interest rate cuts) will soften negative trends. But don't expect rates to drop below 5 per cent
  

• GDP growth will be slower than previous years, but it will still be growth: 1 per cent versus 2.5 to 3 percent

• Exchange rates will put more pressure on exports but spending within the UK, while slightly more moderated, will more than counter this. The UK is making corrective adjustments to avoid recession and is therefore in control

• Business fears are ill-founded because most UK companies are in good health, and overall the private sector is in better shape than entering any previous 'concern period'. Corporate prudence and controls mean most firms are lean and agile

• The banking sector will not wobble and sub-prime is misleading. What we're feeling are some aftershocks of the tighter lending/banking legislation introduced in recent years, which has brought greater governance to credit. Northern Rock is a risk-prone maverick modelled on US banks that has got its comeuppance!
  

Risks to the economy centre on:

• Slowing down of the Asian markets and rising costs of exported goods. This would impact the UK but cause slowing rather than recession

• Media panic fuelled by headlines and misunderstanding of macro-economic mechanics

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