A regional newspaper was today celebrating a notable scoop after landing the first interview with the new deputy governor of the Bank of England.

High-flying economist Minouche Shafik visited the offices of the Yorkshire Post in Leeds yesterday and spoke to business Bernard Ginns.

It led to an exclusive story which was followed up by most of the national and specialist media.

Ms Shafik told the newspaper that movement on interest rates would depend on whether wage rises were accompanied by increases in productivity.

On the question of when to increase rates, Ms Shafik told Bernard:  “If wage increases are expected but productivity is performing well we can wait for longer.

But she added:  “If those wage increases are not accompanied by productivity increases then I think we will have to move more quickly on rates because inflationary pressures will build up.

“The recovery is encouraging. The real question is how can we make this recovery sustainable,” she went on.

“We don’t want to take risks with this recovery. It’s been a long recession and I think that’s going to be the biggest challenge going forward.”

Said Bernard:  “This latest scoop underlines our credentials for market-leading business journalism.”

The YP also secured one of the first interviews with Bank Governor Mark Carney following his appointment in summer 2013.