The economy is heading for its most protracted slowdown since the early 1990s, according to detailed growth forecasts from the Bank of England that show a sharply widening gap between its and the government’s outlook.

The central bank’s forecast for economic growth is significantly below that of the Treasury for the first time since 2005. But with inflation rising and expected to stay high, the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee made it clear that a long period of weakness was needed to bring inflation back under control.