Pound hits one-year high as more interest rate hikes loom; UK grows in April; WE Soda cancels London float – as it happened

Experts fear rising interest rates will cause UK recession, as two UK mobile networks are to merge

• UK economy returns to growth as spending in pubs lifts output
• UK borrowing costs soar above levels of Liz Truss premiership

April's 0.2% growth means the UK economy made a positive start to the second quarter of 2023, having grown by just 0.1% in the first quarter (and shrinking in March).

Jeremy Batstone-Carr, European strategist at Raymond James Investment Services, fears that a Herculean effort" will still be needed to avoid a recession.

Today's GDP growth of 0.2% proves that the UK economy opened the latest quarter more strongly than the previous quarter, boosting the possibility that economic activity will be resilient enough to help the UK sidestep a recession.

However, it is far too soon to call the all clear', particularly with the Bank of England poised to remain on its rate-hiking mission to suppress inflation that remains too high for comfort."