UK's Hunt: We must stick to plan on inflation

British finance minister Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday said that higher-than-expected inflation data strengthened case for the government to "stick to its guns." "Today's figures strengthen the case for the government to stick to its guns, no matter what the pressure from left, right or centre, we won't be pushed off course," Hunt told reporters.

Official data showed earlier that inflation defied expectations of a slowdown as it held at 8.7% in May, putting more pressure on the Bank of England a day before it is forecast to raise interest rates. "If you look at what's happening in other countries, you can see that rises in interest rates do bring down inflation over time, that will happen here," Hunt added.