Greenspan on the UK housing market - was I a little hard on an old man?

I feel that I may have been a little bit hard on an old man earlier today. A journalist called me this morning to ask for my thoughts on comments from 81 year old Alan Greenspan, the former head of the US Federal Reserve. You can read what he had to say here.

I responded that it is a bit rich of him to start prophesizing doom in the UK housing market when the main problems rest in the US. Unlike the US, we were not lending to people who had no means to meet their mortgage repayments. The 'credit crunch' started with irresponsible lending practices in the US. He should spend more time commenting on the economic problems faced by the US and stop trying to divert attention away from their own fragile housing market.

He was bound to make some fairly controversial comments in order to publicise his memoirs, which are being published shortly. The prediction that UK interest rates will hit double figures to control inflation is ridiculous and inflammatory at a time when the UK economy is becoming increasingly nervous.

This is the first, and most probably last, time I have ever heard Gordon Brown described as having made an 'intellectual journey' in respect of the UK economy. The Tories were right when they claimed that recent economic success in the UK was based on a 'mountain of debt' encouraged by Brown.

What do you think about what Greenspan had to say? Is the UK housing market heading for a crash?