As economic forecasters warn that Britain is likely to be in recession, Chancellor George Osborne says the government is doing what it can to "weather the storm".
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) and the Ernst & Young ITEM Club believe growth was negative in the last three months of 2011 and will continue to be in the first quarter of this year. A recession is two quarters of declining gross domestic product.
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), whose forecasts are used by the government, believes Britain will avoid a recession, but experience three months of negative growth.
The CEBR says the economy is likely to have contracted by 0.9 per cent in the last quarter of 2011 and will contract by 0.1 per cent in the first three months of 2010. The ITEM Club expects contractions of 0.2 per cent and 0.15 per cent.
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