THE UK economy shrunk in April and by more than expected, official figures show.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Gross Domestic Product (GDP) went down by 0.3% that month.

Services and manufacturing both contributed to the fall.

However GDP still grew over the last three months as a whole, with signs that some activity may have been brought forward from April to earlier in the year.

The figures likely reflect the impact of huge tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Experts had warned the tariffs could put a dampener on UK sectors including car and steel manufacturers.

It comes after the economy grew by 0.7% in the quarter to March.

At the time, it had grown more than expected.

Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said: “It’s bad news that growth has fallen but when you introduce a £25billion jobs tax, hike business rates, drive investors overseas and spawn hundreds of pages of extra red tape, lower growth is precisely what you get.

“You can’t tax and spend your way to growth.”