Britain's economy grew 2.3 per cent in April as the government eased a lockdown, official data showed, with finance minister Rishi Sunak cautiously welcoming the data as the Delta variant spreads.

It was the fastest monthly output for UK gross domestic product since July last year “as government restrictions affecting economic activity continued to ease”, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

Britain's economy had contracted 1.5pc overall in the first quarter, although had already begun to bounce back strongly in March with output of 2.1pc. The UK's overall output for April remains 3.7pc below pre-pandemic levels seen in February last year, Reuters reports.