Autumn Statement: Osborne denies UK faces recession

Chancellor George Osborne has slashed his growth forecast for the next few years but says the UK is unlikely to slide into recession.

Osborne said the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts GDP growth of 0.9% for 2011, 0.7% for 2012, and 2.1% for 2013. In both 2015 and 2016 it growth will hit 3%, he expects. This is a significant revision from the March Budget, which suggested the UK economy would grow by 1.7% during 2011, 2.5% in 2012 and 2.9% in 2012. Osborne said: "The OBR's figure predict no recession in Britain, but the short-term growth figures have been revised down. These figures assume the euro area will find its way through the crisis. It it does not, there could be a worse outcome for Britain, and we ...