London | The Bank of England held interest rates on Thursday at their highest level since 2008 even as inflation in Britain slowed to 2 per cent in May, an important milestone.

Policymakers kept rates at 5.25 per cent, where they have been for 10 months. The officials said that high rates were working and cooling the labour market, reducing price pressures, but they added that monetary policy would need to stay restrictive until they were sure the risk of inflation overshooting their target had dissipated.