Britain's economic growth slowed to 1.3% in the third quarter, official figures show.

It meant that gross domestic product (GDP) remained 2.1% lower than pre-pandemic levels, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The economy's July-September performance was slightly weaker than the figure of 1.5% expected by economists and marks a sharp slowdown compared to second quarter growth of 5.5%.

However on a monthly basis for September, growth of 0.6% was a bit better than expected and suggested that when comparing with February 2020, the economy was only 0.6% smaller.

Over the quarter as a whole, the biggest contributors to output growth were the hospitality, arts and recreation and health sectors, following the easing of restrictions and reopening of the economy.