Ms Britten, deputy governor of the Bank of England, said on Thursday that recent evidence supported a gradual rate cut but that measuring the appropriate pace of easing was tricky. "Recent evidence further supports the removal of policy constraints, which I expect to continue to be phased out over time," said Ms Britten, deputy governor for financial stability and seen as a centrist on the monetary policy committee, in a speech at the University of Edinburgh. She said it was "difficult to know" at this stage how quickly rates should fall. "To be clear, I expect bank rates to fall over time as the impact of past large shocks continues to wane," Ms Britten said.