Sky News Halted for Major Breaking News Update – And It’s Bad News for Britons
The morning breakfast show was suddenly interrupted by a major update on British economic rates.
Sky News ground to a halt for a major breaking news update (Image: Sky News)
Sky News ground to a halt minutes into their breakfast show as they issued a major breaking news alert from the Office of National Statistics. On Thursday morning (July 16), hosts Anna Jones and Kamali Melbourne returned to the helm to discuss the latest news stories making headlines. But minutes into their morning programme, they brought the show to a standstill as they issued an update on the UK economy.
Ms Jones announced: “Here’s some breaking news that’s coming in to us right at this moment. We understand that the latest GDP figures are in, this is for the month of May. And they tell us that the UK economy grew by 0.1% in May, but that’s pretty much as expected.
“It follows a contraction in the month of April, where GDP contracted by 0.1%. We’re told that the growth in May was because of a rise in services by 0.3% and partially offset by falls in production as well as construction. A very modest rise in GDP, it’ sort of flatlining essentially, isn’t it? Only 0.1% growth from May,” she concluded.
Mr Melbourne pondered: “The question will be what impact the ongoing war with Iran will have on the economy going forward later on in the year. But that tiny bit of growth following the contraction was what economists were expecting.” It didn’t take long before viewers flocked to X – formerly known as Twitter – to share their fury online.
One user penned: “Absolutely useless government, 0.1% is absolutely nothing,” as another asked: “Is the UK about to experience recession?” Meanwhile, a third slammed the broadcasters for failing to raise this issue with the Business Secretary on the show.
They fumed: “You’ve just had the Business Secretary on, and you didn’t even ask him about the anemic 0.1% growth figures you’d just reported as breaking news!?? Yet you asked him about the football??? Doh! [eye-rolling emoji].”
The economy had contracted slightly in April, when the US-Israel war with Iran began to affect businesses. In the three months to May, the ONS said the economy grew by 0.7% compared with the previous three-month period.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: “The economy recorded robust growth in the three months to May, though the pace eased slightly as the last two months showed a weaker picture. Computer programming and advertising led the way, while the often-volatile pharmaceutical industry also performed well.”
The economy saw a strong start to the year, but growth has faltered in recent months, with the conflict in the Middle East having affected some businesses. The Iran war has pushed up oil and fuel prices and also disrupted supply chains. The ONS said firms in a number of sectors had flagged the conflict as affecting activity, including some manufacturing industries, hospitality firms, travel agencies and entertainment companies.
