UK economy double dips
The UK economy has returned to recession after a large fall in construction.
The economy shrank by 0.2% in the first three months of the year after a 0.3% fall in the final quarter of 2011.
National Statistics says that construction dropped by 3%, the largest fall for three years, during the quarter.
Manufacturing dropped by 0.4% while the service sector increased output by 0.1%.
'It's a very tough economic situation. It's taking longer than anyone hoped to recover from the biggest debt crisis of our lifetime. The one thing that would make the situation even worse would be to abandon our credible plan and deliberately add more borrowing and even more debt,' says George Osborne, chancellor.
'There has been no growth over the last year, and the economy is 0.5pc smaller than six months ago. Austerity isn't working. The government should look across the Atlantic and follow President Obama's alternative that has reduced unemployment and brought growth back to the USA,' says Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary.