The Bank of England governor has rejected criticism that the central bank overcooked warnings of a hit to the economy after a vote to leave the EU despite signs that the downturn will be shallow.

Under fire from Brexit campaigners, Mark Carney said he was “absolutely serene” about the Bank’s warning of a possible downturn in economic growth and its preparations for the impact from the Brexit vote.

He said Threadneedle Street reacted properly to weak economic data after the referendum on 23 June, with a cut in interest rates and extra monetary stimulus.

“I am absolutely serene about the … judgments made both by the MPC and the FPC,” Carney told an influential committee of MPs, referring to the Bank’s monetary and financial policy committees.

The Bank governor suffered a volley of criticism from supporters of Brexit in the run-up to the referendum and in the immediate aftermath for saying the economy would face a material slowdown, and possibly a recession, in the event of a vote to leave.

Business and consumer surveys have suggested that much of Britain’s economy avoided the devastating hit from a Brexit vote forecast by some supporters of the remain campaign, though economists say the UK is heading for a slowdown.

Carney welcomed the improvements in business sentiment and output in August after a slump in July, claiming it was partly a result of the Bank’s actions.

The Bank of England cut interest rates to a record low of 0.25% from 0.5% and said it would pump an additional £60bn in electronic cash into the economy to buy government bonds, extending the existing quantitative easing programme to £435bn in total.

The package of measures also included up to £100bn of new funding to banks to help them pass on the base rate cut.

In a controversial move that sparked fierce criticism, the Bank predicted growth would come to a near-standstill over the coming months and be much weaker in 2017 and 2018 than predicted before the Brexit vote.

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg accused the governor and its rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) of going too far in its warnings, which were shown to be flawed by data that showed much of the economy had recovered or at least stabilised since the vote.

Steve Baker, Tory MP for Wycombe, said he welcomed the Bank’s intervention after the vote but said he sympathised with critics who said it risked bolstering the money supply and adding to inflationary pressures.

They were joined by Labour MP John Mann, a high-profile Brexit campaigner, who told Carney the MPC was in danger of using up its ammunition when further shocks were possible, including instability in the eurozone.

Carney said: “I absolutely feel comfortable with the decision I supported and the committee took in August to supply monetary policy stimulus.”

He said the Bank had expected the main sectors of Britain’s economy to bounce back after the initial impact of the referendum in July, as shown in a series of purchasing managers’ indexes published in recent days.

The Bank said in August that most of its policymakers expected to cut interest rates further below their record low later this year, if the economy slowed as expected.

Carney was a witness at the Treasury select committee with Sir Jon Cunliffe, deputy governor for financial stability, and MPC members Kristin Forbes and Gertjan Vlieghe.

Forbes said she voted for the rate cut but was wary of overreacting to one month’s data with a bigger stimulus package that might be needed if there were further negative shocks, especially from abroad.

“I’m a believer in saving tools and not using them, unless the benefits outweigh the costs,” she said.

Cunliffe said he expected to vote for another rate cut this year if the economy evolved as the Bank forecast last month.