The Bank of England has warned that the outlook for UK growth is "noticeably weaker" than first thought, with gross domestic product estimates likely to be in need of revision, and a "quarter or two" of economic contraction to follow.

Presenting the bank's quarterly inflation report today, Bank of England governor Mervyn King said that the coming year was going to be difficult, and that he expected consumer price inflation to hit 5% in the coming months.