The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee would be considering even deeper cuts in interest rates were it not for worrying signs that inflation is likely to spike soon and stay high this year, a key member of the committee said on Tuesday night.

In remarks about the economy that appeared even gloomier than those by Mervyn King, Bank governor, last week, Kate Barker warned that the benign economic conditions that have characterised the past decade are coming to an end.