Mark Carney: even a rock star banker needs a trusty aide

WHILE the appointment of Charlotte Hogg as the Bank of England's first chief operating officer won all the headlines last week, it went relatively unremarked that the incoming governor, Mark Carney, is bringing with him from Canada his own press spokesman, Jeremy Harrison.

Putting aside the matter of why a man lauded variously as "the outstanding central banker of this generation", the "George Clooney of finance" and "a rock star banker" should even need anyone to help polish his thoughts or protect his reputation, there are two puzzling aspects to Harrison's appointment.

First, just as Carney himself agreed to only a five-year-term rather than the statutory eight years, Harrison is signing up for only two years and he's not actually leaving his current job. He will continue to be an employee of the Bank of Canada, with his salary being reimbursed by the Bank of England. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship, so a temporary work permit isn't a problem.

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Second, as The Times' business editor Ian King pointed out last week, Harrison's transfer runs counter to a promise made by Carney to a Times reporter back in March. He insisted he would not recruit his COO from Canada – a promise he stuck to, giving the job to the thoroughly English Charlotte, daughter of Douglas and Sarah Hogg – and said "the same holds" for the job of spokesman.

As King wrote: "It is perfectly possible that Mr Carney has had a change of mind since then. But this does seem a rather clumsy piece of communications from someone [i.e. Carney] who supposedly was hired for his ability in the field. Then again, he consistently denied he was ever interested in becoming Governor."

• Mark Carney: countdown to day one at the Bank of England

So why did Carney feel compelled to bring his own man? The Daily Mail describes Harrison as one of Carney's most trusted aides and offers two alternative reasons for his appointment. One, he's here to "beef up" the BoE's communications machine as Carney pursues "a more open style". Two, Carney is concerned that he will face a rougher ride from the British media than he was used to in Canada and needs a friend at his side.

So far we've only seen Carney in action against awkward MPs. Asked by members of the Treasure Select Committee in February about the seemingly exorbitant £5,000-a-week housing allowance he is receiving on top of £624,000 in salary and pension contributions, Carney simply pointed out he was moving from "one of the least expensive capital cities in the world - Ottawa - to one of the most expensive capital cities in the world". To which there was no response.

But Fleet Street's finest are likely to prove more of a handful and while Carney will start work on Monday without his trusty spokesman, Harrison will be joining him four weeks later. Perhaps that's how long they've estimated Carney's British honeymoon will last.

The most recent example of Harrison in action was in May, during Carney's final days at the Bank of Canada. When the Canadian press calculated that a series of going-away parties for the departing governor held in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto had cost Canadian taxpayers roughly $30,000, Harrison had to come up with a defence.

"Mr Carney has worked tirelessly on behalf of Canadians over these past five years," he said. "These receptions provided an appropriate venue for the governor to officially bid farewell, to thank industry participants for their continued co-operation, and to allow the Toronto and Montreal financial communities the opportunity to thank him for his service to Canadians."

That's just part of what he said in answer to the claims of extravagance: boring reporters to death is a timeless PR classic.

At least Carney's staff at the Bank of Canada cannot be accused of extravagance. According to the Hamilton Observer, they spent $90.31 on a going-away gift for Carney - "a set of bird sculptures fashioned from aluminum".

Let's hope he finds space for them on the mantelpiece of his £5,000-a-week rental.