MPC votes 8-1 against more QE

Minutes of the meeting show that only David Miles voted for an extra £25bn of quantitative easing.

So far £325bn has been injected into the economy under the QE programme.

All nine MPC members agreed to hold interest rates at 0.5%

The committee noted that the crisis in the eurozone could hit the UK's economy, which would make the case for extra stimulus more compelling.

However it also said that the Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation was as likely to be above its 2% target as below in the medium term without any extra stimulus measures, suggesting no further action was required.

The minutes said: “For several members, the decision not to expand the asset purchase programme at this meeting was finely balanced.

“The committee would continue to monitor the outlook each month and further monetary stimulus could be added if the outlook warranted it.”

At the time of the meeting, the most recent inflation figures showed CPI inflation stood at 3.5% in March. On Tuesday official figures showed it fell to 3% last month.

The Bank of England has kept interest rates at 0.5% for more than three years and has steadily increased its programme of QE in an attempt to boost growth in the UK economy.

However the UK economy recently returned to recession after shrinking by 0.2% in the first three months of 2012 following a 0.3% contraction in the final quarter of 2011.

On Tuesday the International Monetary Fund said the UK's continuing economic weakness meant authorities should consider more QE and even cutting interest rates.