Paul Fisher, the executive director for markets at the Bank of England, on Tuesday said there was little monetary policy could have done to offset the various inflationary shocks that have hit the UK over the last few years.

In his review of the economic outlook to the Agency for Scotland, Fisher said: "Given that changes in bank rate or asset purchases take a long time to have their full effect on the economy, monetary policy needs to be forward-looking. Trying to respond to every short-term