Sluggish growth blamed on royal wedding

Slower than expected economic growth has been blamed on individual events such as the royal wedding, Olympic ticket sales, and record warm weather in April. Figures published today by the Office for National Statistics showed Britain's economy slowed between April and June and grew by just 0.2 per cent.In the previous three months GDP grew by 0.5 per cent. But George Osborne said the figures were "positive news" considering the "enormous instability in the euro area and the "huge argument" in the United States about debt. "The positive news is that the British economy is continuing to grow and is creating jobs," he said. "And it is positive news too at a time of real international instability we are a safe haven in the storm." He added: "Our economy is stable at this time because this government has taken the difficult decisions to get to grips with Britain's debts. Abandoning that now, as some argue we should, would only risk British jobs and growth." Last night Labour's shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Angela Eagle said the chancellor had announced tax rises and spending cuts which went "too far and too fast". She said: "George Osborne has badly undermined the recovery in Britain well before the recent problems in the Eurozone and America, leaving us badly exposed if things go wrong later in the year." Business secretary Vince Cable said: "I am not disappointed. We have had growth. It's not spectacular, but I am not surprised by that, when you see where we have come from. "We are still living with the aftershocks of the banking crisis and the recession, living standards have clearly been squeezed by imported commodity prices, but we are getting growth and, more important, if you look at the trends over the last year, it is clear that we are now getting the building blocks for a more balanced and sustainable form of growth with business investment, exports and manufacturing." Labour has repeatedly called for the government to come up with a an alternative plan on the economy. But Cable said: "There is no need for a plan B. We have to stick to the deficit reduction commitments."