The UK economy is growing at its fastest rate since the pre-Credit Crunch era, according to figures from government statisticians.

First official estimates from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) put UK growth at 0.7 per cent in the final quarter of 2013, down slightly compared with the previous three month period.

But overall the economy grew 1.9 per cent during 2013, its strongest rate of growth since 2007.

CBI director general John Cridland said: “The economy is growing and the recovery gathering momentum. This is good news, and we’re seeing improvement across many different sectors.

“This is a strong platform for an even better year in 2014, and we expect the economy to continue to strengthen.”

Growth was driven by the UK dominant service sector, which expanded 0.8 per cent in the fourth quarter, and by the smaller manufacturing industry, which was up 0.9 per cent.