UK set for 'lost year' as double dip drags into summer

Britain's fall back into recession will drag on until June at the earliest and condemn the country to another lost year, economists have warned.

The prospect of another three months of decline, following Wednesday's shock revelation the UK slipped into its first double-dip recession since 1975, will pile pressure on Chancellor George Osborne, the Telegraph reports. According to the Office for National Statistics, the economy shrank 0.2% in the first quarter of the year and is now roughly 0.2% smaller than when the Chancellor unveiled his spending review in October 2010. Gerard Lyons, Standard Chartered's chief economist, said: "The likelihood is that the data will further dent confidence and push the recovery back." Michael...