File photo: AFP 

The Bank of England on Wednesday slashed its main interest rate to 0.25 percent in an emergency move to combat the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak on the UK economy.

In a statement, the BoE said that at a meeting Tuesday, "the Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to reduce Bank Rate by 50 basis points to 0.25 percent" as part of a "package of measures to help UK businesses and households bridge across the economic disruption that is likely to be associated with COVID-19".