Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane has urged companies to get out and spend despite the current “fog of uncertainty”.

Firms need to prepare for the post-Covid future, including putting the spending behind kit and people that will ready us for a future that embraces digital enterprise, Haldane told a conference hosted by FT Moral Money.

The Times quotes the controversial economist as saying: “The missing ingredient in the recovery, both globally and locally in the UK, has been spending by companies…Would it be desirable if companies were to feel able to begin investing, whether in people or in [equipment] in the period ahead? Yes it absolutely would.”

While the current unpredictability in the economy is “unlikely to lift any time soon”, Haldane argued that many business would actually be better off by spending now to get ahead.

“The business model of the future for many corporations will not be the same as the business model of the past, it will have a much larger digital dimension to it,” he is quoted as saying. “Holding off in making that investment in digital kit or skills would not be worthwhile right now; it is worth bringing forward.”