FTSE flat as BP gains offset banks

Insurers were also pressured as sentiment in the financial sector soured. Prudential , Aviva and Legal & General lost 2.1 to 2.6 percent.

Heavyweight miners were weak as metal prices fell as doubts about the demand outlook resurfaced.

Rio Tinto , Xstrata , Lonmin , Anglo American , Kazakhmys and Fresnillo lost 0.6 to 2.5 percent.

Among gainers media issues saw interest. Publishing group Reed Elsevier added 3 percent as Exane BNP Paribas raised the stock to "outperform" from "neutral" and upped its stance on the European media sector to "outperform".

Investors will watch the CBI distributive trade report for October due at 11 a.m., while U.S. economic data set for release on Tuesday include the August figures for the S&P/Case-Shiller index of house prices at 1 p.m. and U.S. consumer confidence numbers for the same month at 2 p.m.

The Bank of England's quantitative easing policy will not cause a future surge in inflation, BoE policymaker Adam Posen said on Monday.

(Reporting by Simon Falush; editing by Karen Foster)