Responding to statistics published by the Office for National Statistics which reveal GDP growth has fallen to a nine-year low, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable said:

“I am afraid the country is now fairly close to recession. These figures are in fact flattering. The reality is much worse because whatever growth there is has been caused merely by businesses accumulating stocks in fear of Brexit.

“The economy is now just bumping along the bottom. These figures show how the closer we get to Brexit, the worse the impact is getting. Far from looking forward to a Brexit bonus we can expect a Brexit tax to deal with the fallout.

“There is still time, however, to avoid this chaos. The economy can be given the boost it needs by giving the country the opportunity to exit from Brexit with a final say on the deal.”