Bank slashes interest rate by 1.5%

The Bank of England has cut interest rates by 1.5 percent down to 3 percent in an attempt to help ward off a deepening recession.

The bold move marks the first time the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee has cut rates by more than half a percentage point.

The last time there was such a big cut in rates was in March 1981. May 1954 was the last time rates were as low as 3 percent.

Last week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling suggested that the Bank should cut interest rates again.

It follows a half a percentage point cut in interest rates in the US.