BANK of England governor, Mr Eddie George, called for an immediate 0.25 per cent rise in interest rates when he met Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Kenneth Clarke, on March 5th, according to minutes of the meeting published yesterday.

Mr George said that unless rates were tightened now higher increases in rates in the future would be "unavoidable".

But Mr Clarke rejected the call, saying recent economic figures had not changed the inflation outlook, and decided to keep rates at 6 per cent.