Bank boss denies eurosceptic claims

Bank of England Governor Sir Edward George has quashed any suggestion that he was a eurosceptic as he outlined the pros and cons of European Monetary Union.

In an interview with CNN, Sir Edward said the arguments for Britain embracing the single currency were finely balanced.

He said: "People have suggested that I'm a eurosceptic and I maintain that I am a euro pragmatist."

Sir Edward believed a single currency would enable companies to compete equally with European counterparts as well as develop London as a financial centre for both sterling and euro markets.

But he warned that one monetary policy associated with a single currency may not suit the economic circumstances of all member countries.

Sir Edward declined to comment on the chances of a further interest rate cut on top of the quarter point reduction announced by the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee earlier this month.

He said of that decision: "If I'd been confident that we'd needed to cut by more than we had done, then we would have thought about that but I certainly wasn't sure that was the case."