BREAKING: UK faces longest ever recession - warns Bank of England

Sky News' Economics and Data Editor Ed Conway has left the meeting at the Bank of England where the rise in the interest rate to 3% was announced.

The rate rise is faster than any seen in any previous decision in the last three decades of Bank of England independence.

The Bank says the UK economy is already in recession, and this could last for four quarters and be "quite protracted" in length.

The average additional hit to people paying mortgages could rise to £3,000 a year, it was suggested.

One sign of some optimism was that the "depth" of the recession would likely not be as bad as previously seen in financial crashes, but more similar to the slowdown of the 1990s.