Chancellor of the Exchequer expresses willingness to accept potential recession to reduce inflation

This statement was made amid concerns that the Bank of England might need to raise interest rates to as high as 5.5% to control inflation.

Hunt said that he is comfortable with the Bank of England taking whatever actions are necessary to reduce inflation and stabilize the economy, even if it means causing a recession.

The Nationwide, Britain's largest building society, has already started increasing some of its mortgage rates.

After the release of high inflation figures, swap rates and some lenders have also started to adjust their mortgage rates upwards, indicating that they expect interest rates to increase.

Economist Mohamed A El-Erian believes that the Bank of England will have to increase interest rates further to control inflation.

However, Lord Lamont warned of the potential impact of high inflation on living standards and the wave of strikes in Britain.

James Murray, the Shadow Treasury Minister, criticized the Chancellor for not caring about growing the economy and for trapping the country in a low growth, high tax cycle.

Renters and homeowners are likely to feel the impact of the increases in mortgage rates as landlords increase rents.