The UK economy grew at its fastest rate for more than two years in the three months to September.
Between July and September, the economy expanded by 0.7%, accelerating from the previous three months, official figures, external show.
The robust growth suggests a far more resilient economy than expected over the summer, despite the impact of higher energy prices from the Iran war.
Strong growth in the services sector – the largest part of the economy, which includes non-physical goods such as consultancy services and computer programming as well as hotels and restaurants – helped boost the numbers.
Within services, computer programming registered its fastest growth for the past three years, helped by cloud computing and AI-linked spending.
The boost from computer programming and consultancy services has been the biggest driver of growth so far this year.
Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the Office for National Statistics, said it was “possible growth could have been even stronger” if there hadn’t been a war in the Middle East.
But he says households may still not feel better off, and that prices might soon start to rise more quickly than wages.
However, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the figures were “welcome news”.
“Despite a year where events around the world have pushed up costs here at home, our economy is growing, bringing hope for the future,” he said.
Chancellor John Healey told the BBC the figures showed a “remarkable resilience” in the face of global conflicts, and hopes they “bring back confidence in Britain”.
Asked about how government decisions could be the reason for growth when AI investment has been a main driver, Healey said ministers can always “help or hinder” business confidence and investments.
