The Bank of England has been left "reacting" to the financial crisis rather than cutting interest rates to help prevent the country slipping deep into recession, the Bank's most outspoken rate-setter said today.

In a bombshell intervention at a time of mounting criticism of the Bank, the monetary policy committee's arch-dove David "Danny" Blanchflower admitted he had been left isolated and vilified by the hawkish stance of his colleagues.

Blanchflower has repeatedly, but until recently vainly, been telling fellow MPC members to cut rates, a lone voice on the committee saying the threat of recession was far greater to the UK economy than rising inflation.

Now, just days ahead of what is expected to be another belated big cut in rates, Blanchflower has revealed the tensions within the Bank's rate-setting team, whose hawks, led by Tim Besley, have countered Blanchflower by repeatedly voting for an increase in rates.

"This is not something I wanted to get right," said Blanchflower in the newspaper magazine G2.

"That's why I warned that this was going to happen unless we acted. I wanted to prevent the crisis. If we'd acted earlier we would be ahead of events and not reacting to them."

The US-based English academic said his opinions were formed by the "economics of walking about".

He continued: "I dissented from virtually everyone else in Britain. It seemed so obvious but everybody else seemed to think I was kooky. It was not a comfortable place to be in. It was not a comfortable time.

"Within the MPC we had a debate. Externally, though, they called me bonkers. Various former members of the MPC said I didn't know what I was talking about. I was shocked by how many commentators went along with the consensus and how little thought there was about alternatives. I felt an awesome responsibility. This matters. This really matters. I felt a tremendous pressure to get it right and to convince the others.

"It was like the weight of the British people on my shoulders. I had a lot of sleepless nights. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this. Maybe I'm completely wrong."

A Bank of England spokesman said Blanchflower was entitled to his opinion: "MPC members can say what they want to say. They are not gagged."