The British economy avoided recession, said chancellor Jeremy Hunt as he welcomed data which showed the UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 last year, but warned that it was still not yet 'out of the woods.' In an interview with Sky News on Friday, he said, 'Inflation is still much too high, that is causing pain for families up and down the country which is why we need to stick to our plan to halve inflation if we do that and play to our strengths in science and technology we really can be one of the most prosperous countries in Europe.