The Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) must act soon to avoid a "major recession", one expert believes.
According to David Kearn, economic advisor for the British Chamber of Commerce, today's decision to keep rates on hold is "understandable" due to current levels of inflation but a cut must be made soon.
He said: "The MPC cannot ignore the fact that the UK economy is very likely in technical recession already and there are distinct risks that the situation would worsen."
Mr Kearn called for a series of rate cuts in the next few months which should begin "as soon as UK inflation peaks".
Earlier in the week, Richard Roberts, head of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) research for Barclays Bank, claimed that SMEs are better placed to deal with the current economic downturn than they were in previous recessions.
He put this down to prudent management and a lower level of debt.
