Economy shrinks by a shock 0.7%
Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Chancellor George Osborne has come under fresh pressure to ease his austerity measures after shock figures revealed the economy suffered a worse-than-expected 0.7% decline between April and June.
Dire construction and manufacturing output drove the biggest drop in GDP since the height of the financial crisis three years ago, alarming forecasters who had expected a much smaller 0.2% fall.