'Britain is coming back' from recession - Osborne

The UK economy grew by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2014, according to the latest figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It marks the fifth consecutive period of GDP growth - the longest positive run since the financial crisis.

Mr Osborne told MPs that for the first time in a decade the three main sectors of the UK economy - manufacturing, services and construction - have grown by "at least 3%" in the last year.

But he cautioned that the recovery cannot be taken for granted, telling MPs on 29 April 2014: "We have to go on working through our long-term economic plan."

Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor of the exchequer, welcomed the news during the departmental question session, but said Mr Osborne had broken his promise to eliminate the budget deficit by 2015.

He complained that living standards were falling "year on year on year" and insisted working off people would be worse off by the time of the next election, than in 2010.

But the chancellor replied: "Britain will be better off because we won't have the mess of an economy on the brink of collapse, a banking system on its knees, an 11% budget deficit."

He the deficit was down and the economic recovery was taking place, and told MPs that Mr Balls' predictions of a million lost jobs had been proved wrong.

The ONS's first growth estimate for the quarter is a slight increase on the 0.7% recorded for the final quarter of 2013, and a rise of 3.1% on the same period a year ago.

But it pointed out that the economy is now 0.6% smaller than its 2008 peak. /BBC