Sir Mervyn King has defended the Bank of England's record despite it missing its inflation target for more than two years.

The Governor says the UK would have suffered a much deeper recession had the Bank raised interest rates in order to hit the 2 percent target.

He doesn't think the UK will slip back into recession but warns the economy will "zig-zag" in and out of growth this year - and that things will be tough for many for some time to come.