U.K. Slashes Growth Forecast

The British government announced sharply lower economic growth forecasts on Tuesday and warned that a recession in the euro zone could send the British economy into reverse.

The economy was forecast to grow by only 0.7 percent next year, against a March budget forecast of 2.5 percent, finance minister George Osborne said, presenting figures from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.

Growth was expected to recover to 2.1 percent in 2013 but Osborne told parliament the reality could be much worse if the euro zone debt crisis was not solved.