LONDON: Britain's finance minister, Iraqi-born Nadhim Zahawi, has inherited a cost-of-living crisis that could cause the UK economy to go into recession.
The former education minister was escorted into the Treasury late Tuesday after his predecessor Rishi Sunak resigned over the culture of scandal plaguing Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Zahawi takes charge with UK inflation at a 40-year peak of 9.1 percent, a level set to hit double figures this year on soaring energy and food prices, said the Bank of England BoE. "We have to make sure we get through this inflation, because it can be a very painful thing if we let it get out of control," he said.
The self-made millionaire co-founded the prominent polling company YouGov and was active in local Conservative politics in London before becoming an MP in 2010.
The BoE warned on Tuesday that the global outlook had deteriorated markedly due to runaway prices fuelled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The central bank has hiked British interest rates five times since December in a bid to tame inflation.
A raft of measures have been taken by the UK government to try to relieve financial pain, including a slight reduction on fuel tax.
Critics said that the moves fall well short of what is needed to help cash-strapped households and businesses.