Huw Pill told an audience in Edinburgh that there were “dangers” in waiting for firmer evidence of the impact of conflict in the Middle East, reports our sister title Daily Business.

Mr Pill has voted for an interest rate rise, but was just one of just two members of the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) who backed such a rise from 3.75% to 4% at the July meeting.

With hostilities resuming and oil prices once again rising, Mr Pill said: “In my view, in this environment we cannot wait for uncertainties to resolve themselves before acting.

He argued that “clear, prompt and decisive policy action and communication would help steer markets, reduce uncertainty”.

He added: “It is now six months since the onset of conflict in the Middle East. How or when the conflict will be resolved and, more importantly, the magnitude of its implications for UK inflation, remain unclear: essentially as unclear as they were six months ago.

“Given all this, I am uncomfortable with a ‘wait-and-see’ framing of the MPC’s current decisions over bank rate.”