The government is risking both lives and the economy with its approach to easing the lockdown

New economic data shows sharp contraction in output, but government’s muddled response to such predictable numbers risks making things worse, writes Ben Chapman

Construction workers and others who cannot work from home have been encouraged to return to their jobs (Getty/iStock)

The economy contracted sharply in March, as we knew it would. All previous indicators, not to mention common sense, had pointed to a fall in the amount of goods and services produced after lockdown was called on 23 March.

Official data released on Wednesday shows that most sectors were affected, with those that have been forcibly closed, such as restaurants, seeing the most significant drop.

This was expected when parts of the economy have been deliberately and temporarily shut down. Just about the only positive number in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data was a record surge in sales of “paper and paper products” as Britain stocked up on loo roll.