Recession over, but growth remains weak

The UK economy has finally come out of recession, following growth of 0.1 per cent in the last three months of 2009, but Gordon Brown has admitted the start of recovery has taken longer than it should have.

Speaking to Newsnight, chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling has warned that economic growth remains very weak, while the prime minister has warned of bumps on the road to recovery.

The economy had been in recession for a period of 18 months.

“There is a lot of uncertainty around the world. Of course, there will be further bumps along the way, we are not out of the woods yet,” said Mr Darling.

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Meanwhile, business secretary Peter Mandelson said the recession is over but the economy is still fragile.

And shadow chancellor for the Conservative party George Osborne said the government left the country badly prepared for both the recession and the recovery while Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said this was not the quick recovery Mr Darling “has been praying for”.