London: Britain's economy grew less than expected in the final quarter of 2025, according to official data Thursday, dealing a fresh blow to embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his government.
Gross domestic product expanded 0.1 percent in the October-December period as the key services sector took a major hit, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.
Analyst expectations had been for overall GDP growth of 0.2 percent for the fourth quarter.
The data comes as Starmer has in recent days fought off calls to resign over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Starmer appointed Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite knowing of his links to Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
The prime minister's Labour party has meanwhile struggled to revive Britain's sluggish economy since winning a general election in July 2024, having raised taxes in its two annual budgets.
The ONS on Thursday added that GDP grew 1.3 percent in 2025 as a whole after a 1.1 percent expansion in 2024.
The UK economy was also hampered last year by US President Donald Trump's tariffs blitz.
Despite Trump rolling back his most aggressive tariffs threats, many British companies have held back from making major investment decisions owing to the uncertainty triggered by Trump's actions regarding global trade.
The Bank of England last week cut its forecasts for UK growth this year and next.
The central bank estimates gross domestic product growth to hit 0.9 percent in 2026 and 1.5 percent next year.
It had previously forecast GDP output of 1.3 percent for 2026 and 1.6 percent for next year.
The growth downgrades came alongside the central bank's decision to leave its benchmark interest rate at 3.75 percent as UK inflation stays above the BoE's two-percent target. __AFP
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