UK GDP fell by 20% in April - the largest slump since records began

Load Error Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician at the ONS, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the fall in GDP “is really unprecedented”. “Virtually every sector has been shrinking.” It means GDP fell by 10.4 per cent in the three months to April and sets the UK on course for one of its worst quarters in history. “There was a report that came out a couple of days ago from the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] and it suggested the drop in GDP for this year for the UK would actually be worse than for every other industrialised nation. “So we’re in a very, very difficult situation as a country and we will need strong action to help us climb out of this as quickly as possible.” Neil Birrell, chief investment officer at asset manager Premier Miton, added: “Other countries’ data is improving as lockdown eases and the concern is that the UK is getting left behind and, as we are currently witnessing, equity markets are very sensitive to any threat to recovery.” Tej Parikh, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, said many businesses will still need support as lockdown slowly lifts.