Bank experts split three ways on recovery

A three-way split emerged between Bank of England policymakers this month as rate setters remained undecided over the timing of recovery-boosting measures, it was revealed today.

Minutes of the October rates meeting showed that one member of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) - Adam Posen - called for a £50 billion hike in the so-called Quantitative Easing programme (QE), while Andrew Sentance maintained his vote for a quarter point rate hike to calm inflation.

The report confirmed that a growing number of members felt the need for more QE had increased in recent months.

But the MPC held fire on QE and voted to keep rates at 0.5%, citing the Bank's November inflation report as being a crucial decider in future moves.