Fitch downgrades UK debt rating

Ratings agency Fitch has stripped the UK of its AAA rating due to its “weaker economic and fiscal outlook”.

The agency placed the UK on an AA+ rating, following Moody’s downgrade of UK debt in February.

Fitch said: “The downgrade of the UK’s sovereign ratings primarily reflects a weaker economic and fiscal outlook and hence the upward revision to Fitch’s medium-term projections for UK budget deficits and government debt.”

The downgrade will place further pressure on the Government ahead of next week’s first quarter GDP figures, which will reveal if Britain has managed to avoid an unprecedented triple-dip recession.