Bank chief Mervyn King turns down pay rise

Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King arrives for the dinner of the G20 Finance Ministers' meeting at the Guildhall in the City of London September 4, 2009.

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England's governor has waived his right to a pay rise, his office said on Wednesday, less than a month before the government is expected to announce deep spending cuts in an emergency budget.

Mervyn King, who chairs the bank's interest rate-setting committee, earns 305,368 pounds a year and last took a pay rise, of 2.5 percent, in July 2009, according to the bank's annual report.

The bank said King had made a personal decision on the pay rise and would not comment on his reasons for turning it down.

"In relation to 2010 and 2011, the governor has advised the remuneration committee that he does not wish to receive any increase in his salary," the annual report said.

With Britain facing deep cuts to reduce a record budget deficit, senior public sector workers have come under political pressure to share the country's pain.

Details of the coalition government's spending plans will be presented to parliament in an emergency budget on June 22.

Prime Minister David Cameron and his senior ministerial team cut their own pay by five percent last month in what was seen as a largely symbolic act that will pave the way for a period of belt-tightening.

He has vowed to crack down on "crazy" pay packages for senior public sector workers as part of wider measures to curb government spending and reduce the deficit.

The Conservative election manifesto contained a pledge to freeze pay for public sector workers next year, excluding the one million lowest paid.

King also turned down a pay rise when he was reappointed for a second term as governor in July 2008 during the global financial crisis.

The governor was entitled to a new salary of between 375,000 and 400,000, plus an automatic yearly rise of 2.5 percent until his term is due to end in June 2013, the bank's annual report said. He does not receive a bonus.

(Reporting by Peter Griffiths)