UK inflation falls to 8.7% but food prices remain stubbornly high

UK inflation dropped to 8.7 per cent in April, a smaller fall than the Bank of England expected, raising pressure on the central bank to keep increasing interest rates. 

The figure will come as a blow to ministers and the central bank because the fall in consumer price inflation from 10.1 per cent in March was significantly smaller than the expected drop to 8.4 per cent. 

Food price inflation remained close to 45-year peaks, at 19.1…