CAPE TOWN, Aug 31 Reuters The Bank of England will see the job through on bringing high inflation back down to its 2 target even if there is a risk that high interest rates hurt Britain39;s economy, BoE Chief Economist Huw Pill said on Thursday.

In a speech that sought to underscore this month39;s message from the BoE39;s Monetary Policy Committee MPC, Pill said borrowing costs should probably stay high to quash stubbornly high core inflation, rather than fall quickly.

The key element is that we on the MPC need to see the job through and ensure a lasting and sustainable return of inflation to the 2 target, Pill told a research conference organised by the South African Reserve Bank.

At present, the emphasis is still on ensuring that we are in the words of the MPC39;s last statement sufficiently restrictive for sufficiently long to ensure that we have that lasting return to target.

The BoE raised interest rates for the 14th time in a row on Aug. 3 to 5.25 and said borrowing costs were likely to stay high for some time in order to prevent high inflation from turning into a longterm problem for Britain39;s economy.

Investors see an 80 chance that the BoE will raise interest rates to 5.5 next month, and expect rates to peak at 5.75 before the end of the year.

Pill said there was a risk that the increases in borrowing costs hurt Britain39;s economy, which some economists think is on the cusp of a recession.

Now that policy is in restrictive territory, there is the…