UK economy surpasses its pre-crisis level

Britain’s economy is finally bigger than it was before the financial crisis struck six years ago, official data showed yesterday.

Gross domestic product expanded by 0.8% in the April-June period, the same strong pace as in the first three months of the year and in line with forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists.

Compared with the second quarter of last year, growth was 3.1%, the fastest pace since the end of 2007, the Office for National Statistics said.