Bank of England sees worst slump in 300 years as coronavirus bites

The Bank of England said Britain could be headed for its biggest economic slump in over 300 years due to the coronavirus lockdown and kept the door open on Thursday for more stimulus next month.

In what it called an 'illustrative scenario' rather than a standard forecast, the BoE said Britain's economy might be on course to shrink by 25% in the three months to June and unemployment could more than double to 9% of the workforce.

In 2020 as a whole, output risked shrinking by 14% - the biggest plunge since a 'Great Frost' in 1709 - despite the huge stimulus