GDP: UK economy 'flat-lining', says shadow chancellor

The UK economy has avoided falling back into a recession after recording faster-than-expected growth in the first three months of the year.

The Office for National Statistics said its first estimate for gross domestic product (GDP) showed the economy grew 0.3% during the first quarter of 2013.

Chancellor George Osborne said it was an "encouraging sign".

The shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, told the BBC that the economy was "just back to where it was six months ago".