Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has defended the decision to hold rates at 3.75% today, saying there is still uncertainty over the impact of the Middle East conflict. 

“Inflation is higher than we expected it to be. I really believed we would have been back to the 2% target by now,” he said. 

“But it is good news, and what we have to do now is get it back to 2%. I think holding is the right decision to be in.”