The UK has officially entered into the first economic recession in over a decade, the worst since records began.
The economy suffered its worst slump on record between April and June, with coronavirus measures pushing the country into a recession. The economy shrank some 20.4 per cent when compared with the three months prior.
With shops forced to close and factory and construction output declining as a result of measures to limit the spread of Covid-19, the UK finds itself in the first technical recession since 2009.
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the exchequer, said that the government is "grappling with something that is unprecedented", continuing that we are in "a very difficult and uncertain time".
The government has faced criticism for their handling of the crisis from the opposition. Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has said that: "A downturn was inevitable after lockdown - but Johnson's jobs crisis wasn't."
She continued: "We've already got the worst excess death rate in Europe - now we're on course for the worst recession too. That's a tragedy for the British people and it's happened on Boris Johnson's watch."
While the Office for National Statistics has said that the economy bounced back as government restrictions were eased, deputy statistician Johnathan Athow, said: "Despite this, gross domestic product in June still remains a sixth below its level in February, before the virus struck."
The services sector has suffered particularly as a result of the pandemic. Responsible for some four fifths of the economy, it has seen the biggest quarterly decline on record.
The ONS have said the economic decline was concentrated in April, at the height of lockdown.
