HELSNKI (REUTERS) - Opposing sides in the debate about whether countries should focus on austerity or growth overstate the true difference between their positions, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said on Friday.

"What we need is more common sense," Sir King told an event here. "This debate has been vastly exaggerated by people who want to make political arguments."

Sir King was speaking two days after the International Monetary Fund called on Britain to spend more to fund investment, a call unlikely to be heeded by finance minister George Osborne.