Osborne: "We won't be blown off course by bad weather"

Official figures show the UK economy unexpectedly shrank by half of one per cent between October and December.

The Treasury said the contraction could be explained by December's wintry weather. The Office for National Statistics appeared to back that up, saying that without the heavy snow, GDP would have been "broadly flat". The Chancellor, George Osborne, said the government's deficit reduction plans would not be "blown off course by bad weather"