UK economy fails to grow for second month in a row

The UK unexpectedly failed to grow in July, after flatlining in June, official figures showed.

Analysts had forecast slight growth of 0.2%.

A summer of sport, including the Euros, helped to boost the services sector which includes retail and hospitality, but production and construction output both fell.

A second month without growth presents a challenge for the new Labour government, which has made boosting the economy a priority.

Despite the lack of growth, Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics said "longer term strength in the services sector meant there was growth over the last three months as a whole".

Services growth was led by computer programmers and the health sector, which recovered from strike action in June. But there was drop in output for advertising, architects and engineers, Ms McKeown added.

GDP - or gross domestic product - is closely watched as a sign of how well the economy is faring.

However, the figures are an early estimate and are often revised slightly after more data comes in.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she was "under no illusion" about the scale of the challenge.