Taking Action ... Save Our Savers vs the Bank of England's MPC

Protesters Save Our Savers

Target The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee

Location The Bank of England

Date 6 October

The lowdown

Angry campaigners stood outside the Bank of England on London's Threadneedle Street and smashed a papier-mache pig with a mallet. This followed the MPC's decision not to increase interest rates.

Why the protest?

The bank has held its base rate at a historic 0.5 per cent since March 2009, affecting UK savers, with the average instant access account paying just one per cent. Inflation has increased to 4.5 per cent on the consumer prices index (August figure), which is vastly above the Government's target of two per cent. Pensioners are worst off, according to Age UK Enterprises research, as they face additional living costs amounting to £984 since 2008. This is because they spend more on the essentials such as food and fuel.

How did the Bank of England respond?

The Bank of England's governor Mervyn King said: 'I have enormous sympathy with the predicament that savers face. They are suffering from the consequences of an economic crisis that they did not cause or are responsible for.'

How did the media cover it?

The protest was covered across national print and broadcast media including the London Evening Standard, Reuters, The Daily Telegraph, the Financial Times, Channel 4, ITV and Sky News.