Blanchflower calls for Mervyn King to resign

Former Bank of England policymaker David Blanchflower has called for Mervyn King to quit over the US WikiLeaks affair.

Blanchflower says King, who has appeared to have discussed and attempted to influence policy with David Cameron and George Osborne before the election, has made the "unforgivable sin" and compromised the independence of the central bank, the Guardian reports.

According to private documents uncovered by WikiLeaks, King is alleged to have pressed the Conservative leaders about how they planned to tackle the country's mounting debt problem. He is also said to have criticised the leaders for their lack of experience to the US Ambassador Louis Susman.

Blanchflower, who steeped down from the MPC last year, says King must go.

"Mervyn King is one smart guy and that has always been abundantly clear," Blanchflower wrote on the Guardian site.

"Unfortunately, it is his thirst for power and influence that has clouded his judgment one too many times. He has now committed the unforgivable sin of compromising the independence of the Bank of England.

He is expected to be politically neutral but he has shown himself to be politically biased and as a result is now in an untenable position. King must go."