UK industry falls back into recession

Factory output was down in two consecutive quarters as the steel crisis helped drag down the sector's overall output

Government hopes of rebalancing the UK's service-sector-dominated economy have been dealt a blow with the latest official data showing industry slipping into its third downturn within a decade.

A slight pickup in activity in March was not enough to offset sharp falls in output earlier in 2016 and meant production dropped for the second successive quarter - the definition of a recession.

Related: UK factory output suffers biggest fall since 2013 - business live