British high street hit by sales slump

THE Bank of England faced calls for further interest rate cuts last night after a key survey showed the British high street suffered its worst July in a decade.

Data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed same-store retail sales fell 1.9% last month on the same period a year ago - although the group said the impact of the London bombings could have been far worse.

The BRC said last week’s reduction in the cost of borrowing was “welcome” but would take several months to have any significant effect on consumer spending.