The Bank must not fear radical action. Britain needs negative interest rates

The signs are of relapse, not recovery, when it comes to the pandemic. Central banks must rise to the challenge again

As Britain and the rest of Europe battle the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, desperate eyes turn to central bank bosses, wondering what rescue plans they have up their sleeves.

This year the Bank of England has pumped 300bn into the UK economy via its quantitative easing programme. The European Central Bank (ECB) pushed more than double that amount into the 19 eurozone countries, and the US Federal Reserve has done the same to keep credit flowing through the banking system.