Britain's recession is worse than previously thought, as revised official figures show that the economy shrank by more than expected in the first quarter of this year.
The British economy has now returned to a technical recession.
That is defined as two successive quarters of contraction, after shrinking by 0.3% in the final three months of 2011.
Gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.3% between January and March, which was worse than the previous estimate for a 0.2%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed in a statement.
Other figures show that private sector activity in the euro zone saw it's biggest monthly drop in nearly three years in May.
The flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) compiled by the London-based research firm Markit fell to 45.9 points in May, down from 46.7 in April in what amounted to the fastest rate of decline since June 2009.
