Orange & Gold Contractor Accountant

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said he did not know when British interest rates should start to rise, once again sounding vaguer than before about when the BoE might begin easing the economy off record-low borrowing costs.

"The question in my mind is when is the appropriate time for interest rates to increase, and that is strongly consistent with the strength of the domestic economy," Carney told members of Britain's parliament on Tuesday.

Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Allergan have announced a record-breaking $155bn (£100bn) deal that looks sure to prompt an international row over corporate tax avoidance.

There is a 35 per cent chance of Britain voting to leave the EU, although the vote is still expected to be close, according to a Morgan Stanley report.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said that UK interest rates are likely to remain low "for some time".

His comments came as he spoke to MPs on the Treasury Committee.

UK rates have been held at 0.5% since March 2009. Most economists are not expecting the Bank to raise rates until mid-2016 at the earliest.

The amount of underpaid corporate tax collected from big businesses fell 13% last year

HMRC's Large Business Directorate, the specialist unit targeting the UKs largest businesses, collected an extra £3.5bn following investigations into underpaid corporation tax in 2014/15.

Prof Griffith's lecture comes a month after social networking giant Facebook revealed it paid £4,327 in corporation tax in the UK in 2014, less than the £5,392.80 in income tax and national insurance contributions someone on the average UK salary of £26,500 would pay.

Several multinational corporations are being investigated by the European Commission over the tax arrangements they have with EU member states.

Amazon, Fiat Chrysler, and Starbucks are among several companies subject to the investigation and the Commission has said it could widen its probe.

HMRC collected an extra £3.5bn in corporate tax from challenging businesses on their payments in the last tax year, according to figures from Pinsent Masons.

Britain remained stuck in deflation for the second consecutive month, as the falling cost of travel pushed consumer prices into negative territory in October.

Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), was -0.1pc last month, matching the lowest level seen in the UK economy since 1960. It is the first time Britain has been in deflation for two straight months since records began in 1996.