Commenting on today's GDP figures, EEF Chief Economist, Steve Radley, said:
"The question is not whether we are in a downturn but now how deep and prolonged it will be. Whilst pockets of industry are still holding up, large parts of the real economy are being hammered hard.
Business and the consumer will now be looking to government and the Bank of England to step up to the plate and deliver a bold package of fiscal measures to help companies backed by further aggressive cuts in interest rates."