Charlie Bean is enjoying the recession. There is no fun, the Bank of England’s deputy governor adds extremely quickly, in the misery of rising unemployment nor the sight of viable companies going out of business. But on the occasion of his 100th monetary policy committee meeting, he is visibly energised by the challenges of dealing with a sudden loss of confidence in the economy.

But does Prof Bean himself bear a significant responsibility for Britain’s recession? One intervention of all his many on the committee could be advanced as evidence for the prosecution. In August 2005 he swung the vote five-four in favour of an interest rate cut – overriding Mervyn King, the governor, in a decision that has since proved highly controversial.