Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has been branded a “tyrant” by a former member of the Bank’s key interest rate-setting committee.

GORDON Brown’s hopes of heading the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were dealt a serious blow yesterday as David Cameron indicated he was ready to block his predecessor’s appointment to the role.

The Governor of the Bank of England was urged to quit today after it emerged he privately criticised David Cameron and George Osborne in the run-up to the British general election.

CUTTING public expenditure or public sector wages or employment could cause havoc for the Irish economy, a top economist warned yesterday.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan’s €4bn spending cuts will drive the economy over a cliff into a bottomless depression, a leading economist warned today.

The Bank of England paused for breath today a month after its shock decision to pump an extra £50bn (€57bn) into the recession-hit UK economy.

The Bank of England is widely expected to cut interest rates this week amid fears that the UK economy is heading towards a recession.

Bank of England rate-setters begin their latest two-day meeting today under increasing pressure to stave off a looming recession.

Britain’s economic downturn will be “more profound and long-lasting” than expected amid the worst global economic conditions for 60 years, Alistair Darling warned.

An interest rate increase was ruled out this month because of the risk that it might make the economic downturn “unnecessarily deep”, the Bank of England revealed today.

Fears of mounting inflation outweighed those of slowing economic growth as the Bank of England made a near unanimous decision to keep interest rates steady this month, it was revealed today.

The Bank of England’s dilemma between inflation fears and staving off a slowdown was highlighted today after rate-setters split three ways for the first time in nearly two years.

Bank of England policymakers came under pressure to consider a half-point cut in interest rates earlier this month, it was revealed today.

Bank of England rate-setters voted overwhelmingly to keep interest rates on hold at 5.75% in their first meeting since the Northern Rock banking crisis, it was revealed today.

A dissenting voice to this month’s rise in UK interest rates said today there were no signs the economy had been “running too hot” ahead of the vote.

A further hike in interest rates looked on the cards today after the Bank of England again raised fears over rising inflation.