The following is an edited transcript of an interview between the Financial Times and Charlie Bean, deputy governor of the Bank of England, held on 17 December 2008.

FINANCIAL TIMES It was your 100th MPC meeting in December. The last time someone got to 100, Mervyn King did so in August 2005, which was obviously also quite an important meeting when he was outvoted and you voted for a rate cut. Given where we are, do we think that that meeting was the last kick to the boom and unfortunate?