Asked about comments from leadership front-runner Liz Truss's team suggesting that the central bank's rate-setting independence should be reviewed, Sunak said: "That would be a massive mistake for our country, and international investors would really not look very kindly on it at all."

Sunak was speaking at an event for Conservative Party members who are voting over the next few weeks to decide the country's next leader.

(Reporting by William James; editing by Jonathan Oatis)