The UK economy grew by 4.8 percent in the second quarter of 2021 as lockdowns lifted, getting people back into pubs, the Office for National Statistics figures showed. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by a further one percent in June, creating five consecutive months of growth.

       The economy also speeded up from 0.6 percent growth in May, the ONS said.

       Lockdown restrictions slowly eased through much of the quarter.

       Outdoor dining opened again in April, the first month the quarterly data includes, and further restrictions were lifted in May.

       ONS deputy national statistician for economic statistics Jonathan Athow said: "GDP is still around two percentage points below its pre-pandemic peak."

       Economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics had expected GDP to grow by 0.6 percent in June, and 4.7 percent across the quarter.

       The news will come as a major boost to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, with 75 percent of Britons now fully jabbed.

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       On Tuesday Johnson tweeted: “Our incredible vaccine rollout has now provided protection to 3/4 of UK adults.

       “We should be proud of this huge national achievement.

       “It’s vital those who haven’t been vaccinated book their jab to protect themselves, their loved ones and allow us to enjoy our freedoms safely.”

       Sam Fuller, Director of Financial Markets Online, commented: “The pace of the UK’s vaccination programme – which has successfully delivered two Covid jabs into the arms of 75% of the adult population – is an important factor and may explain why UK growth has soared to treble that of Germany and four times that of its European neighbour France."

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       9.37am update: ONS data "unlikely to move the needle" for Sterling

       Sterling was little changed on Thursday as analysts expected the Bank of England to make no moves in its monetary policy after official data showed Britain's economy grew in line with expectations in the second quarter.

       The Office for National Statistics said the economy grew by 4.8% in the second quarter, in line with a Reuters poll of economists' quarter-on-quarter expectations.

       Analysts said the BoE was unlikely to make a move on the data, with expectations for economic growth in Britain to slow down in the third quarter.

       In a note, ING said: "The data is unlikely to move the needle on the BoE story and perhaps a widening trade deficit also prevents GBP from moving too much higher."

       Stuart Cole, head macro economist at Equiti Capital in London, said "it is quite likely that the pace of growth has already peaked.

       "For sterling, while the economic landscape continues to provide solid support, it does suggest further topside progress will be slow."

       9.06am update: Brexit Britain 'leading tech revolution' as report shows half of Europe's investors in UK

       Brexit Britain has trumped the EU in a new report showing how the UK attracts almost half of all education technology investments coming into Europe.

       The UK is said to be "leading the global education technology revolution" as the nation invests heavily in science tools to inspire the next generation.

       Data released by the Digital Economy Council last year showed that the UK industry is one of the fastest-growing in Europe, on target to be worth over ￡3.4billion by the end of the year.

       This is coming from more than 1,000 companies and startups exploring cutting-edge learning tools such as augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) – as well as searching for the next big breakthrough.

       8.32am update: Sunak optimistic after ONS figures

       Assessing the current situation after the publicaiton of today's ONS figures, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: "I know there are still challenges to overcome, but I feel confident in the strength of the UK economy and the resilience of the British people."

       The ONS also reported that the UK's trade deficit, excluding precious metals, rose by ￡3.6 billion to ￡5.2 billion in the second quarter of the year.

       In June exports to non-EU countries fell by 5.6 percent, mainly due to drops in sales of pharmaceuticals and cars to countries outside Europe.

       Exports to EU countries rose 1.2 percent in June, the statisticians said.

       8.26am update: EU ready to issue final Brexit ultimatum over border row as 'patience wearing thin'

       The EU appears to be readying a final ultimatum to the UK as the bloc's patience is "wearing thin" over a command paper to renegotiate the Northern Ireland Protocol, a senior MEP has said.

       Lord Frost has demanded significant changes be made to the Northern Ireland Protocol, an element of the deal he negotiated, as he said "we cannot go on as we are".

       Negotiations are ongoing to resolve the post-Brexit trading issues with the Brexit minister setting out the proposals in the House of Lords last month.

       But the Fine Gael Irish MEP claims the UK's plans would amount to a renegotiation of around half of the Protocol, which he branded as “not acceptable” due to the removal of certain EU authority in Northern Ireland.

       8.12am update: Economy is like a "house of cards", warns economist

       Despite the positive data from the Office for National Statistics, the UK's economy remains like a "house of cards", Simon Lister, an IFA at the financial comparison website, InvestingReviews.co.uk, warned.

       Mr Lister said: "“Though there are clear areas of weakness in the economy, specifically construction, the services sector put in a hard shift during the second quarter. Even then the number came in lower than the Bank of England's forecast.

       "There are without doubt some positives to take away from this data, but the economy remains as delicate as a house of cards."

       He added:"As the economy opened up, and restrictions were relaxed, there was always going to be a spring in output but with the end of furlough looming, and sharply rising inflation, it could prove a dead cat bounce.

       “The two quarters ahead will tell us a lot more about the economy than the previous two quarters, as the furlough stabilisers that have been keeping the economy upright are removed."

       8.02am update: ‘Brexit success from day one!’ Lord Moylan hails visa free travel for musicians around EU

       Lord Moylan has hailed the success of Brexit and pointed to visa free travel for musicians to 19 EU countries as one of the many positive outcomes.

       The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) recently announced that UK musicians will be able to tour in 19 EU countries without a visa.

       A statement from the DCMS said: “We want the UK’s fantastic performers and other creative professionals to be able to tour abroad easily.

       “We are now actively engaging with the remaining member states that do not allow visa and permit free touring.”

       The peer said: “Brexit was a success from day one, because it returned our democracy to us and allowed us to take back control of our own affairs.

       “It’s heartening that an increasing number of EU countries have now reached agreement on allowing British musicians to tour.”

       7.59am update: "Zero to hero in an hour"

       Also commenting, Sam Fuller, Director of Financial Markets Online, wrote:“Large swathes of the UK economy went from zero to hero in the space of just one quarter.

       “The contrast between the locked-down first three months of the year with the second quarter was widely predicted but is no less remarkable for that.

       He added: “Crucially the growth came throughout the quarter, with all three months recording a jump in GDP as pandemic restrictions eased and more sectors of the economy came back online.

       “Most reassuring of all is the pre-eminent role of British consumers in the recovery. While the UK government spent vast sums propping up the economy during the darkest days of the pandemic, the second quarter’s growth was broad-based and largely demand-led, with real household expenditure jumping an impressive 7.3 percent."

       7.40am update: "Considerable demand to invest"

       Commenting on quarter on quarter GDP rising 4.8%, Ian Warwick, Managing Partner at Deepbridge Capital, said: “Although expected with the economy reopening, today’s GDP data is the latest sign of positive growth for the economy.

       "As we continue to focus on economic recovery, it remains critically important that scale-up businesses, particularly in high-growth sectors such as digital technologies and life sciences are supported; as they will be at the very heart of economic growth as we create an economy fit for the twenty-first century.

       "Government initiatives such as the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) have never been more important for helping entrepreneurs and innovators source the funding they require, whilst also offering private investors with tax incentives to develop UK-supporting private equity portfolios.

       "With our EIS funds reaching record levels of funding in 2020/21 it is evident that there is considerable demand from investors and financial advisers alike to invest in early-stage UK companies which we believe will be at the forefront of our economic recovery.”