Jeremy Hunt warns of ‘tough road ahead’ as UK economy shrinks

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, says the ‘fundamental resilience of the British economy is cause for optimism in the long run’. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters

Jeremy Hunt has warned of a “tough road ahead” after Britain’s economy shrank in the three months to September, in what is expected to be the beginning of a lengthy recession.

In its first estimate of growth in the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) presented a bleak picture of the economy before next week’s autumn statement from the chancellor.