ONS economic growth figures ‘can’t be entirely relied on’, Jacob Rees-Mogg says

Jacob Rees-Mogg has claimed economic figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) “can’t be entirely relied on”.

The business secretary was speaking to BBC Breakfast on Wednesday after new figures revealed the UK economy shrank by 0.3 per cent in August.

“First of all, the ONS recently updated earlier figures in the year, to show that the economy had grown rather than shrunk.” Mr Rees-Mogg said when asked how he feels about the Bank of England potentially extending support beyond Friday.

“Figures on the day they are announced... they can’t entirely be relied on.”

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