Chatham House Chair Jim O'Neill criticized the emergency cut to interest rates from Bank of England (BOE) as "a mistake and too soon."

The central bank followed the U.S. Federal Reserve Wednesday in announcing a 50-basis point reduction to its benchmark rate, from 0.75% to 0.25%, in a bid to cushion the economic impact of the new coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking to CNBC following the decision, former Goldman Sachs chief economist O'Neill was critical of its timing amid the ongoing escalation of the coronavirus, which has now infected 382 people in the U.K. including government health minister Nadine Dorries.

"There is quite a lot of evidence that QE (quantitative easing) and lower rates to the levels that we're at here and in many other countries have not worked for years," he said.

"If we are now trying to encourage people to stay at home, not travel, what on Earth is a rate cut supposed to do?"

O'Neill suggested that the move was "a mistake and too soon," adding that the BOE may need such policy "bullets" if demand continues to weaken in the coming weeks.