Despite rising rates the Bank of England is making it easier to get a mortgage. Has it lost its mind?

Easing affordability tests isn’t as risky as it might seem to be, given the way the market has moved, writes James Moore. The bigger problem for the housing market is Tory plans to increase demand

Bad timing: Bank boss Andrew Bailey (PA Wire)

Just days before what looks set to be the biggest interest rate rise in 27 years, perhaps up to 11 per cent, lenders have been told they no longer have to check if their mortgage borrowers can afford higher rates by the Bank of England.

That’s right. The body that sets Britain’s interest rates is telling banks and building societies that they no longer have to worry about them.

Has someone been at Threadneedle Street’s water supply? Is this a dastardly Kremlin plot to destabilise the UK’s financial system? Perhaps not.