LONDON, July 23: Bank of England policymakers were split three ways over their decision to leave interest rates unchanged earlier this month, minutes from the latest meeting showed on Tuesday.

Economists said the news illustrated how the British central bank was caught between cutting rates to boost economic growth, and lifting them to prevent inflation soaring even higher.

The BoE's nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) voted 7-2 to leave British borrowing costs at 5.00 per cent on July 10, according to the minutes.

The BoE's main task is to keep British 12-month inflation close to a 2.0 per cent target.—AFP