LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Thursday the bank would keep monetary policy restrictive for long enough to "squeeze inflation" out of the system but it would be careful not to maintain that strategy for too long.

"Monetary policy is currently restrictive in the sense that if we maintain this stance for long enough, we will squeeze inflation out of the system and that's what we will do," he told a press conference after the BoE held interest rates at a 15-year peak.

"But we should not keep monetary policy restrictive for excessively long." (Reporting by Andy Bruce and Sarah Young, writing by Elizabeth Piper, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)