UK interest rates have been cut from 0.5% to 0.25% - a record low and the first cut since 2009, the BBC reported on Thursday.

The Bank of England announced a range of measures to stimulate the UK economy including buying £60bn of UK government bonds and £10bn of corporate bonds.

The Bank also announced the biggest cut to its growth forecasts since it started making them in 1983.

It has reduced its growth prediction for 2017 from the 2.3% it was expecting in May to 0.8%.

The decision to cut interest rates to 0.25% was approved unanimously by the nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and is the first change in interest rates since March 2009.