UK GDP contracted 1.5% during the quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics, after a third national lockdown forced businesses across the country to close their doors again.

However, GDP is estimated to have increased 2.1% during March – the fastest monthly growth since last August – as schools in some parts of the UK reopened. 

The service sector, which includes retail, grew 1.9% during March, the ONS said, suggesting that retail sales continued to “show strength”.