Jeffrey: Is ONS data reflecting 'true' economic activity?

Could statisticians be wrong again?

In 1999, I wrote a number of articles pointing out a discrepancy between growth numbers for the economy and labour market data.

While the latter were showing good employment gains and continuing strong demand for labour, the initial GDP estimate for the first quarter suggested growth had slumped to just 0.7%, year-on-year. My conclusion was that growth was being significantly understated. I was called in by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to explain myself - what justification did I have for suggesting its GDP data was wrong? My response - that their data seemed inconsistent with other evidence we had for the economy - was roundly rejected. So, what do the official figures now show for that period?...