Exports to EU plunge by £5.6bn in first month since Brexit

Fall of 40.7% comes as UK economy in January shrinks by most since first wave of Covid pandemic

• Business live: UK economy shrank 2.9% in January lockdown
• Coronavirus - latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

Exports of UK goods to the EU plunged by 40.7% in January during the first month since Brexit and the toughest Covid lockdown since the first wave of the pandemic, driving the biggest monthly decline in British trade for more than 20 years.

In the first month since leaving the EU on terms agreed by Boris Johnson's government, the Office for National Statistics said goods exports to the bloc fell by 5.6bn, as imports fell by 28.8%, or 6.6bn.