The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee was split 8-1 for the third month running in February, as Stephen Nickell again stood alone in opposing a decision to keep interest rates at 4.5 percent. Short sterling interest rate futures fell sharply while the pound gained a third of a cent on the dollar as minutes of the MPC's Feb 8-9 meeting published on Wednesday dented expectations of further rate cuts because many traders had bet on a closer vote.