Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means significant uncertainty for the UK economy, the chancellor has warned.

This is despite UK growth bouncing back in January as the effects of the Omicron COVID-19 variant began to ease.The economy grew by 0.8% compared with a 0.2% contraction in December according to the Office for National Statistics.

However, one industry body warned the UK faced a higher risk of recession as the impact of the Ukraine conflict would add to the sharp rise in living costs. UK households were already facing sharply rising costs before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in part due to soaring energy costs.

The conflict in Ukraine pushed the price of oil to its highest level for nearly 14 years at one point and this has had a knock-on impact on fuel costs, with UK petrol prices hitting record highs.

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