The UK's economic performance since the start of the coronavirus pandemic has been stronger than previously thought, with faster growth than Germany or France, new statistics show.
Britain's economy in the second quarter of 2023 was 1.8 per cent larger than the final quarter of 2019, the last full quarter before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows.
This exceeds the growth of 1.7 per cent in France and 0.2 per cent in Germany.
However, it's far behind the 6.1 per cent expansion seen in the US, and is also weaker than in Japan, Italy or Canada.
WATCH NOW: Liam Halligan explains what latest UK economy figures mean
A previous estimate had shown the UK's economy had shrunk by 0.5 per cent during that period.
Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "The data ... does not change the big picture that the economy has lagged behind all other G7 countries aside from Germany and France since the pandemic. And that's before the full drag from higher interest rates has been felt."
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said the revision to statistics published today "proves the doubters wrong".
He said: “We know that the British economy recovered faster from the pandemic than anyone previously thought and data out today once again proves the doubters wrong.
"We were among the fastest countries in the G7 to recover from the pandemic and since 2020 we have grown faster than France and Germany.
“The best way to continue this growth is to stick to our plan to halve inflation this year, with the IMF forecasting that we will grow more than Germany, France, and Italy in the longer term.”
Economist Dilip Shah shared his reaction on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying one of the key takeaways was: "The UK needs to repeal EU regulations to unlock innovation & growth."
However, other countries are also in the process of revising their data.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the 'best way to continue this growth is to stick to our plan to halve inflation this year'
PA
GDP expanded 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, official figures published today show.
In the first quarter, GDP expanded 0.3 per cent.
GB News Economics and Business Editor Liam Halligan said: "We are a long way from recession in the UK."
