UK in 'largest recession on record' as covid-19 slashes GDP by 22%

The UK is in its 'largest recession on record,' the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said, after GDP figures released today showed a record 20.4% contraction in 2Q. The data follow a more modest decline of 2.2% in 1Q, leaving the UK economy more than a fifth - 22.1% - smaller than it was at the end of 2019. The ONS said the fall in GDP reflected "the ongoing public health restrictions and forms of voluntary social distancing that have been put in place in response to the covid-19 pandemic." The decline in 2Q was driven, the government department explained, by a 20% fall in ...