UK economy grew faster than expected in July

The UK's economy grew faster than expected in July, latest official figures have shown. The economy expanded by 0.4% in the month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, whereas economists had predicted no growth. The expansion was helped by a strong performance from the services sector, and particularly computer programming. It follows growth of 0.3% in June and zero growth in May. According to the ONS director of economic statistics, Liz McKeown, there was evidence that businesses involved with artificial intelligence and related technologies helped to boost the sector, not just in July but in May and June as well.