UK GDP beats forecasts but growth remains uneven

ONS puts quarterly growth at 0.5% but warns annual pace is slowest since 2012

The British economy grew at a faster rate than expected in the final three months of 2017, despite pockets of weaker and more uneven growth triggered by the Brexit vote.

GDP grew by 0.5% in the fourth quarter after expansion of 0.4% in the previous three months, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). City economists had forecast growth of 0.4%.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is a key government statistic and provides a measure of the UK's total economic activity.