UK economy shrinks by record 20.4%; BoE warns of worst recession in 300 yrs

Britain's economy shrank by a record 20.4% in April from March as the country spent the month in a tight coronavirus lockdown, official data showed on Friday in what is likely to be the bottom of the crash before a long and slow recovery.

In a slump that dwarfed previous downturns in Britain's recent history, the Office for National Statistics also said the economy shrank by 24.5% compared with April last year.

Both readings were below the already unprecedentedly weak forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists.

"Record GDP falls in today's figures. When taking April and March together the