The country will not enter a recession, Alistair Darling said on Thursday. The chancellor, sharing a press conference with US Treasury secretary Hank Paulson, delivered a relatively upbeat message about Britain’s economic prospects.

“I believe our economy will continue to grow,” he said in response to a question about whether the UK could escape a recession, often described as two quarters of economic contraction. “If you look at the consensus of independent economists, they think the economy will continue to grow.”