Bank of England policy makers were split in February about how much stimulus to inject into the U.K. economy, minutes of their February policy meeting showed Wednesday, with two members advocating a higher dose to offset the risk that activity in the economy proves weaker than expected.

The minutes show the nine members of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep the central bank's key interest rate at a record low of 0.5% and a majority of seven backed the expansion of its asset purchase program by GBP50 billion to GBP325 billion.

However, the minutes record that rate-setters Adam Posen and David Miles pushed for a GBP75 billion extension to the BOE's bond-buying scheme.

They judged that inflation could fall materially below its 2% target in the next couple of years as a consequence of weaker-than-expected activity. Worse still, Posen and Miles feared that a prolonged period of depressed demand risked causing permanent damage to the U.K. economy and its output potential. Such a risk "could be attenuated by a more aggressive loosening of monetary policy in the near term," the minutes record.

For the majority, a weak outlook for growth and the likelihood that inflation would dip below target without additional stimulus justified further asset purchases. They opted for a smaller extension because they judged there is a possibility that growth will prove stronger than expected and inflation more persistent, the minutes record.