Britain’s economy shrunk by 0.2 percent in the first three months of 2012 taking it back into recession.

The Office for National Statistics blamed a sharp fall in construction output for the contraction.

A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.  The economy shrank by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011

The ONS said output of the production industries decreased by 0.4%, construction decreased by 3% and output of the service sector increased by 0.1%.

It added that a fall in public sector investment had contributed to the particularly large fall in the construction sector.