Ed Balls: 'Fall in output even worse than I expected'

The UK recession has deepened after the output of the economy fell by 0.7% between April and June, which was largely due to a sharp slowdown in the construction sector, according to the Office of National Statistics.

Output from manufacturing and other production industries fell by 1.3%, while construction was down by 5.2%.

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said the fall was even worse than he had been expecting and the government's 'ill-judged' plan for the economy had failed doing long term damage.