Bank of England charges up rates while warning of a very bad outlook

A recession is on the way, with inflation set to peak at 13 per cent. What’s really worrying is the way these projections are getting progressively worse each time the Bank updates them, writes James Moore

The Bank of England may be forced to increase rates by another half point as soon as next month, economists have warned (PA)

A 0.5 per cent interest rate rise? We knew that was coming. It became obvious as soon as the Bank of England’s home team on the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) followed the lead of its external hawks with “get tough” speeches.

No, the real nasty was in the economic forecasts, which emerged alongside the rate rise. That was bad. They were hideous.

The Bank’s language was sober and measured, as it usually is, but with the content it laid it on as thick as a child given a jar of Nutella to slather on a slice of bread.