The UK economy performed better than was previously thought during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The ONS said its annual examination of previously published data, the Blue Book, showed that by the end of 2021, the UK economy was 0.6% larger than pre-pandemic levels versus the 1.2% contraction shown in the original data.
Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Gordon, said the revisions were “extraordinary”, adding: “The entire UK economic narrative — post-pandemic — has just been revised away.”
He said every "UK not back at pre-CV-19 level" headline was now obsolete and "UK bottom of the G7" headlines were no longer true.
The revisions suggest the UK no longer has the worst growth record among G7 countries since 2019. They are also likely to show Britain performing better than Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, once they are included in official figures in October.
The ONS said that the UK economy contracted by 10.4% in the main pandemic year of 2020 - less than the 11% contraction previously reported.
And it said UK GDP grew by 8.7% in 2021 - considerably better than the previously reported growth of 7.6%.