Britain back in recession, OECD says - Telegraph.co.uk

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls blamed government policy for the lack of growth.

He said: "Last year the deputy head of the OECD said if growth is slower than expected the government should slow down the pace of tax rises and spending cuts.

"That is what the OECD is now forecasting and, with our economy flat-lining for over a year, it's time the chancellor listened to wise advice."

The Government's independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility, has forecast the UK will avoid a recession but the economy will grow by just 0.8 per cent over the course of 2012.

Despite the figures, Mr Osborne declared that Britain will become the "technology centre of Europe". The cut in the top rate of income tax was an element of a strategy aimed at building a more competitive economy, he said.

Speaking at the opening of the new Google Campus in Shoreditch, east London, he said: "I want the UK to become the hub for technology in Europe as a whole.This is the path we need to take to create new jobs, new growth and new prosperity in every corner of our country."