Mervyn King: where has he been?

Mervyn King is the Governor of the Bank of England and, as such, he is a Very Important Man in financial circles. Some would say that, after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, his role is the most pivotal to the health of the British economy. I've been trying to figure out what he's been doing whilst Rome has been burning and a letter from David Dalton in this morning's Guardian very neatly sums up the conclusions I've come to. Mr Dalton wrote:

Mervyn King has been governor of the Bank of England since 2003. In nine glorious years he has been surprised by the credit crunch, presided over four years of recession, issued an unbroken series of inaccurate growth and inflation predictions, and is now shocked and horrified to discover some bankers are unscrupulous crooks. His confidence, complacency and cluelessness must have inspired the present government. Clearly he isn't going to resign, and he seems to be unsackable, but couldn't somebody go and wake him up every few weeks?

The World at One on the BBC today has pointed out that it was a word of disapproval from Mervyn King that was a key factor in the resignation of Bob Diamond. So, perhaps, Mervyn hasn't been asleep all the time. But it still leaves me with questions about how effective he is and whether he is also someone who should be considering their position. The ripples are spreading outwards........