UK economy continues recovery with 0.6% growth

The UK's economy grew by 0.6% between April and June as it continued its recovery from the recession at the end of last year.

The latest figure was in line with forecasts and follows a 0.7% increase in the first three months of this year.

Growth was led by the services sector, in particular the IT industry, legal services and scientific research.

Services are the biggest contributor to the UK's economy, far outstripping manufacturing and construction, both of which saw output fall between April and June.

"The UK economy has now grown strongly for two quarters, following the weakness we saw in the second half of last year,” said Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the Оffice for National Statistics, which released the figures.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has placed growth at the centre of his economic agenda, promising to “take the brakes off Britain”.

In August, the Bank of England upgraded its GDP growth forecast for this year to 1.25 per cent from just 0.5 per cent owing to stronger-than-expected activity in the first half of the year.

The UK’s GDP quarter-on-quarter figure for the three months to June compares with a 0.3 per cent expansion in the Eurozone and 0.7 per cent growth in the US.