Sainsbury's boss blames Brexit for rising food prices

The former CEO of Sainsbury's has hit back at Brexit for impacting inflation.

Asked on Sky News what is causing food prices to go up so quickly, businessman Justin King told viewers that the issues could be pinned on Britain leaving the EU, and that other factors like Covid and the war in Ukraine hadn't helped. He said:

"I mean the current pressures started with Brexit.

"You're talking about the prime minister going to Northern Ireland today, the problems at the border in the Irish Sea, of course, are the reality in good part in the border with many of our trading partners.

"Well in excess of 40 per cent of our food comes from Europe, so it started with Brexit, Covid exacerbated the problems and of course the war in Ukraine and the particular impact it is having on certain commodities... will be long lasting and significant."

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It comes as Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey warned of a “very big income shock” to households, and admitted feeling “helpless” in the face of surging inflation.

He blamed global factors like Ukraine, and told MPs that inflation, which currently stands at 7 per cent, is expected to top 10 per cent later this year. Inflation – the rate of price growth in the economy. This compares with the Bank’s 2 per cent target, which is often referred to as “price stability”.

There is clearly many factors feeding into this global crisis, but someone tell Jacob Rees-Mogg that Brexit opportunities aren't looking that great after all.

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