The minutes revealed King and two other committee members, Tim Besley and David Miles, wanted to extend the quantitative easing programme by £75bn rather than the £50bn which was injected.

They believed an increase to a total of £200bn was necessary as there was a risk inflation could stay below the bank’s 2% inflation target for a “sustained” period of time.

They said: “The potential adverse consequences of adding another large monetary stimulus might be less severe than the possible costs of acting too cautiously.”

However, the majority disagreed and the 6-3 split showed views within the bank differ on just how deep the recession is.

The members voted for a £50bn expansion saying “the most immediate downside risks to the economy seemed to have receded.”

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“All members agreed substantial further asset purchases were needed over the next three months,” the minutes said. “The projections indicated an increase in asset purchases of £50bn would probably need to be combined with a lower path of bank rate than implied by market yields to balance the risk of inflation around the 2 percent target in the medium term,.” the minutes said.

Vicky Redwood, economist at Capital Economics, said the minutes give a strong signal quantitative easing might be extended even further.

She added: “Of course, since the meeting we have had some unexpectedly strong inflation figures. But if, as we expect, that turns out to have been a blip and the economic recovery is weaker than the MPC expects, there is a good chance that the MPC will extend the QE programme again in November.”

The policymakers voted 9-0 to keep interest rates at a record low 0.5%, the minutes also reveal.