The UK economy is on the cusp of outright deflation, while the consolidated public sector debt amounts to well over 90% of gross domestic product, a burden last borne in the mid-1960s, which represents an enduring threat to the UK’s AAA credit rating.

In the meantime, the latest set of Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee minutes suggests that, for the first time in several years, additional monetary easing is back on the agenda.