Bank under pressure to make rate cut

The Bank of England has come under pressure from a leading economist to make an emergency base rate cut, it has been reported.

Dr Gerard Lyons, chief economist at Standard Chartered, told the Daily Telegraph that the Bank should cut one per cent off the base rate immediately.

However, despite an expectation in the US that the Federal Reserve will drop interest rates, prime minister Gordon Brown refused to comment on any inter-meeting rate cut, saying it was down to the Bank to make the decision.

He told BBC Scotland''s Politics Show that inflation was starting to come down, adding "it gives scope to all the monetary authorities, including the Bank of England, round the world to make a decision about interest rates."

Meanwhile the Homeowners Advice Centre has advised lenders to pass on the Bank''s 0.5 per cent rate cut to customers immediately in order to minimise the impact of the economic downturn.

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