UK exits recession with fastest growth in two years

These figures are an important staging post for the UK economy.

They should underline the fact that the recession at the end of the last year was the mildest on record.

The government will seize on the figures alongside a likely fall in the inflation rate close to the 2% target in the next fortnight to say the economy is back to normal.

Yesterday, the governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey told the BBC that the economy had turned a corner, but that it was not yet a strong recovery.

Even with a formal return to growth this morning, the economy has barely grown for two years.

Earlier this week, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said, in anticipation of today’s figures, that the government was delusional and “gaslighting” the public about the strength of the economy.

The battle over perceptions of the strength of recovery is likely to be at the heart of the general election campaign.

Both main parties claim they want to fight the election on the economy.