The economy slowed more than previously thought in the first quarter of 2008 as the service sector registered its weakest performance in more than 12 years, revisions to official data showed yesterday.

The Office for National Statistics said quarter-on-quarter growth halved from 0.6 per cent to 0.3 per cent, below its previous estimate of a 0.4 per cent increase and the slowest expansion in three years. It revised year-on-year growth down from 2.5 per cent to 2.3 per cent.