London's 19% economic surge underlines divide with rest of England

England and Wales GDP figures by ONS show West Midlands is second in growth league

London's economy has outstripped all other English regions with a 19% surge in growth since 2012, highlighting the divide between the capital and the rest of England.

The Office for National Statistics underlined the city's disproportionate economic heft in its first set of regional GDP figures for England and Wales, which showed the north-east with the slowest growth over the same period at 5.9%.