UK economy stronger than first thought after drugs and prostitution boost GDP figures

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has made revisions to the way UK output is measured, and as a result there has now been an improvement in its historic performance.

Figures show that the UK economy shrank by 6% at the height of the recession in 2008-09, lower than the previous estimate of 7.2%.

This is because the ONS's GDP calculations now include contributions to the economy from prostitution and sales of illegal drugs. In total, the new inclusions contributed £10bn to the UK in 2009 alone.