Britain’s economy saw zero growth in the final quarter of last year as manufacturing shrank heading into the country’s general election that unlocked Brexit, official data showed yesterday.

“There was no growth in the last quarter of 2019 as increases in the services and construction sectors were offset by another poor showing from manufacturing, particularly the motor industry,” said Rob Kent-Smith at the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

UK manufacturing contracted 0.8 per cent in the October-December period, the ONS said.

Britain finally departed the European Union on January 31 after Prime Minister Boris Johnson in December led his Conservative party to victory in national polls.

“We’ve broken the deadlock and left the EU — now we need to seize this moment to level up and prepare our great nation for long-term success,” finance minister Sajid Javid said in a statement yesterday following release of the growth data.