Rubbish Check
Daily Mail Money · 13 September 2026
source“Bank of England boss urged to pause bond sales costing UK taxpayers £100bn”
R3/ 10
Lightly altered
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
12345678910
In short
Rubbish Talk rates the Daily Mail's claim that BoE bond sales are "costing UK taxpayers £100bn" a 3/10 because the real figure it's built on, £94billion in OBR-projected losses over four years, is a forecast rounded up and stated as an already-incurred fact.
The Verdict
Lightly altered. The underlying story checks out: economists really are calling for a pause, and quantitative tightening really is generating huge losses for the Treasury. The spin is in the number itself, rounding a four-year forward projection of £94billion up to a round "£100bn" and presenting it in the headline as a cost already being incurred rather than a forecast contingent on the Bank's current pace continuing.
What actually happened
The Bank of England is deciding this week whether to slow or pause its active gilt-selling programme (quantitative tightening), which is crystallising losses the Treasury must cover. Economists and think-tanks, including NetWealth's Gerard Lyons and the IPPR's William Ellis, are urging a pause or slower pace, arguing the UK is out of step with other major central banks.
Key facts
- Article states the OBR projects further QT losses of £94billion over the next four years, including £22billion of crystallised losses on active gilt sales, not £100billion.
- The Bank bought £895billion of bonds after the 2008 crisis and during the pandemic, at first proving highly profitable with £124billion transferred to the Treasury before losses began after 2022.
- Its holdings have since fallen to £489billion as it sells into a falling market at a mounting cost to taxpayers.
- Separately, a broader OBR estimate cited by other outlets puts cumulative Treasury-to-Bank cash transfers at £145billion between 2024-25 and 2029-30, and a Treasury minister has put the lifetime QE/QT cost at £133.7billion, both larger than the Mail's £100bn but on a different time horizon and basis than the £94bn figure the article actually uses.
- Economists expect the Bank to slow bond sales from £70billion to £50billion a year rather than halt them, per the article.
What to watch for
- Watch whether the Bank actually slows or pauses active sales this week; if it doesn't, the "urged to pause" framing becomes the real story next round.
- Watch which of the competing loss figures, £94bn, £133.7bn or £145bn, gets used as coverage evolves; the spread shows how much the "cost" number depends on which time window and methodology an outlet picks.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
