MPC overrules King to hold QE at £325bn

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted five to four to maintain quantitative easing (QE) at £325bn this month, overruling the governor and three colleagues who called for further expansion.

The minutes from the Committee's last meeting in June show five members of the MPC - including Charles Bean and Paul Tucker - opted to maintain QE at its current level. Mervyn King (pictured), David Miles and Adam Posen opted to increase it by £50bn, while Paul Fisher wanted to expand it by £25bn. The split in the MPC comes after official data yesterday revealed another unexpected fall in inflation in May. Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation is now down at 2.8%, having fallen from April's reading of 3%. In the last two months it has fallen by 0.7%, taking many commentators by su...