'Sneaky' lenders delay mortgage cuts

The laggards include HSBC, Woolwich and Yorkshire. Several of the UK's biggest building societies - including Britannia, Lambeth and Yorkshire - have also failed to cut the cost of their standard variable rate mortgages.

Earlier this month, the Bank of England cut the base rate from 4.75 to 4.5 per cent. However, millions of homeowners will not benefit from the reduction because their lenders are refusing to pass on the cut.

"More than half of lenders are enforcing sneaky delay tactics," said Louise Cuming, of price comparison service Moneysupermarket, which conducted the research.