The Bank of England has cut interest rates from 4.75% to 4.5%, their lowest level since June 2023.

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey held a press conference after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to cut interest rates, while also halving its growth forecast for 2025.

All nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted for a rate cut, while two members Catherine Mann and Swati Dhingra – pushed for a deeper rate cut of 0.5 percentage points to 4.25%, warning that the economy appeared to be slowing more rapidly than anticipated.

Officials cautioned that Rachel Reeves’s record tax hike was increasingly weighing on the economy, which is now expected to narrowly avoid recession.

It is the third cut since August 2024, but the Bank said it will be cautious about making further reductions.

It also issued a warning for the year ahead, slashing its 2025 growth forecast from 1.5% to 0.75% and cautioning that inflation could climb to a new peak of 3.7% by autumn — nearly double the government’s 2% target.

Interest rates affect the mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people.

Mr Bailey said: “It will be welcome news to many that we have been able to cut interest rates again today. We’ll be monitoring the UK economy and global developments very closely and taking a gradual and careful approach to reducing rates further.”

Hamish Martin, partner at LAVA Advisory Partners, said: “The movement of the Bank of England’s base rate typically has an impact on the M&A market, with today’s cut potentially resulting in an uptick in activity. Lower borrowing costs make debt financing more attractive, encouraging both trade buyers and private equity firms to pursue acquisitions that might previously have been out of reach due to higher cost of capital.

“The cut could also have an impact on valuations, as lower rates enhance the present value of future cash flows, making many targets more appealing. However, while this move has the potential to support deal-making, it’s not a fix-all – broader economic conditions, investor confidence, and geopolitical factors will still play a critical role in shaping the market’s momentum over the coming months.”

Muniya Barua, deputy chief executive at BusinessLDN, said: ​“Another interest rate cut will provide some solace to firms which are struggling to keep on top of the rising cost of doing business.

“With a sizeable employer national insurance hike now only two months away, however, it’s vital that the current spending review delivers the funding needed to match the Chancellor’s warm words on growth last week.”

The City of London Corporation’s Planning Applications Sub-Committee has approved a 54-storey tower on the doorstep of UK’s busiest station, Liverpool Street Station.

Delivering almost 100,000sqm of future commercial space, economic and employment growth, an iconic new tower will become one of the tallest in the Square Mile.

Proposals submitted for the site at 99 Bishopsgate, will provide more than 8% of the proposed City Plan target of office floorspace, as the Corporation aims to deliver an additional minimum of 1.2m sqm, by 2040.

Responding to increasing demand for new office schemes of this kind, 99 Bishopsgate is set to achieve the highest level of sustainability credentials, whilst generating upwards of 7,500 jobs that are easily connected to local public transport routes, helping to maintain its international competitiveness, benefitting London and the UK’s economy.

According to global property consultancy Knight Frank, availability in newly constructed office buildings has fallen to 0.5 per cent in the City of London, causing prime rents in the area to rise 16 per cent over the past 12 months. It was also reported that the City’s tallest office building at 22 Bishopsgate, had recently become 100% let.

In addition to its provision of much needed, best in class office space, the scheme would contribute an inclusive 7-day visitor destination experience, with a bespoke cultural offer in the form of a new pavilion building space, planned to be occupied by ‘Intermission Youth’, a charitable company set up to help disadvantaged young people through access to theatre.

The 99 Bishopsgate scheme will also deliver transformational public realm improvements that will be welcoming for all communities. A new network of pedestrian routes linking in to the recently consented 55 Bishopsgate and 55 Old Broad Street developments will see a 1013% increase in public space, linking into wider pedestrian routes from Liverpool Street Station to the City Cluster and beyond.

Added to this, a new retail, food and beverage hub will feature on the ground floor, acting as a ‘City Market’, complete with seating areas that will welcome visitors into the huge, new public space, that would transform the site into a gateway to the City Cluster from the north.

Chair of the City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee, Shravan Joshi, said: “A much-needed office development has been approved in the City of London and it speaks to the confidence that global investors have in the local real estate market, as well as the UK economy, more widely.”

“The 99 Bishopsgate scheme will also give the Square Mile one of the largest public realm upgrades from a single planning application, in recent history, increasing the ‘walkability’ of the City, so that it becomes a safer and more pleasant place to travel through.”

Police are appealing for the public’s help to find two teenage girls from Morocco who have been reported missing.

Douae (14) and Houda (15) were last seen leaving the hostel they were staying at in Tavistock Place, WC1, at around 8.30pm on Tuesday, January 28.

Both girls had arrived in London on Saturday, January 25, for a week-long stay as part of a student exchange programme run by an independent company. They were due to return to Morocco on February 1.

The programme the girls are on is not attached to a specific school and is run by a private company.

Detective chief inspector Sarb Kaur said: “We are appealing for any information about Douae and Houda’s whereabouts. They have travelled from Morocco and are in a city and country that is not familiar to them, so the longer they remain missing then the greater our concern for their welfare is.

“A team of detectives is working tirelessly to locate them and we are liaising with the Moroccan embassy and the company who organised the visit to ensure their families in Morocco are kept updated with any developments.”

Anyone with information that could assist police is asked to call 101 or ‘X’ @MetCC and quote ref 01/7101825/25. For an immediate sighting of Douae and Houda, call 999 immediately.

A man and a woman have been jailed for murdering 38-year-old Sarah Mayhew (pictured) and preventing her lawful burial.

Steve Sansom (45) and Gemma Watts (49) dismembered Sarah’s body and dumped it over several trips, in plain sight of the public.

Sansom of Burnell Road, Sutton, and Watts of Holmbury Grove, Croydon, were sentenced to life imprisonment at the Old Bailey on Thursday. Sansom will serve a whole life order and Watts will serve a minimum of 30 years’ imprisonment. At an earlier hearing they both pleaded guilty to murder and preventing a lawful burial.

The pair were also sentenced to five years each for perverting the course of public justice, to run concurrently.

Detective chief inspector Martin Thorpe, who led the investigation, said: “I would like to send my deepest condolences to Sarah’s family and friends. A loss is always hard, but to hear about the way Sarah spent her last moments must be heart-breaking. I commend their bravery and strength throughout this investigation; we will continue to support them should they need us.

“Secondly, I would like to commend my colleagues from across the Met. The dedication shown to this investigation, which has been complex and challenging, has been extraordinary, they worked around the clock to pull together the evidence needed to bring this case to court.

“The investigation included viewing hundreds of hours of CCTV, extensive forensic examinations within the defendants’ houses, the searching of fields and rivers, witness accounts, and reviewing the defendants’ phones. These revealed messages detailing what the defendants planned to do to Sarah, with texts and voice notes recorded by the defendants themselves, also revealing their intention to carry out violent attacks on others.

“Sarah was a young woman who had the rest of her life ahead of her, before it was selfishly taken by Sansom and Watts for their own sadistic motive.

“Their sick and twisted desires were heard in court by her family. They listened to traumatising evidence which revealed that the two enjoyed the pain and torment that they put Sarah through.” No sentence can ever bring Sarah back or compensate for her loss.”

An investigation was launched following a call to police shortly after 9am on April 2, 2024, to reports of human remains found in Rowdown Fields in Croydon.

A forensic examination revealed the remains to be of Sarah Mayhew, who was living in Croydon at the time of her death.

Shortly after the first discovery, remains were also found in Mitcham in May 2024. A further examination revealed that the remains also belonged to Sarah.

The investigation revealed messages on Sansom’s phone which showed a conversation that suggested the pair wanted to murder Sarah. The conversation revealed that Sansom was going to invite Sarah over to his house to which Watts replied “only if it’s a deal she ain’t leaving in one piece” to which Sansom added “okay”.

Further messages sent indicated a sexual and sadistic motivation.

Sarah was last seen on CCTV entering a property in Sutton on March 8, 2024 accompanied by Sansom and his dog. It is believed that Sarah was murdered on this day.

Messages were found from the same date sent by Sansom who was trying to justify what they had done. The message to Watts said “we’re not evil, we’re not evil”.

Two days later, Sansom was captured on CCTV in a retail shop purchasing a hacksaw, blades and a bucket.

The pair then began their attempt to clean-up the crime scene and conceal their involvement in the murder. Watts was seen on CCTV in a retail shop buying multiple cleaning products such as bleach and scourers, a receipt was later recovered for these following a search of her property.

Further intelligence found that as well as the cleaning products, a silver incinerator bin was purchased to burn Sarah’s personal belongings, which were never recovered.

Officers discovered that Sansom and Watts travelled to and from Rowdown Fields using public transport on March 11, 2024 while carrying oversized shopping bags, which they appeared to have struggled to carry.

In April, parts of Sarah’s body were found in the same location.

It was also found that the pair travelled to the River Wandle with a suitcase. CCTV showed them returning from their journey with no suitcase. Sarah’s torso was then found in May in the same location.

Following the discovery of Sarah’s remains in April, Sansom was arrested at his home address on 6 April 2024 and Watts was arrested later on the same day.

A search of Sansom’s house found traces of blood in the same black bucket he had earlier purchased.

A forensic detection dog also indicated areas of interest, one being the bottom of a wall in Sansom’s bedroom – testing revealed extensive amounts of blood.

They were charged on April 9, 2024 and sentenced yesterday.