A shock contraction in the economy in the run-up to Budget was revealed on Friday - with the blame being laid at months of feverish tax rise speculation fuelled by Treasury leaks.

The latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures showed the economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.1% in October.

It followed weeks of leaks over potential tax cuts being eyed up by the Chancellor in her November 26 statement .

The GDP figure for October fell below the 0.1% growth that analysts had been expecting.

It follows a 0.1% fall in September - and is the ninth monthly GDP contraction since Labour came to power in July 2024.

The Office for National Statistics revealed that construction activity fell 0.6% month-on-month, while services fell 0.3%.

The data shows the UK economy has now not grown sinc

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