Autumn budget - live: Jeremy Hunt says UK is now in recession as he announces tax hikes

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The UK is now officially in recession, Jeremy Hunt said as he unveiled his autumn budget in parliament.

The Chancellor told the 'Office for Budget Responsibility had confirmed this and had also plunged other countries in the world into recession.

Mr. Hunt unveils tax hikes and spending cuts worth billions of pounds in a bid to weather the economic 'storm'.

“Today we are putting forward a plan to tackle the cost of living crisis and rebuild the economy,” he told MPs, adding that the government’s priorities were “ stability, growth and public services.

Among its changes is the lowering of the threshold for the top rate of income tax from £150,000 to £125,000. This is expected to attract 250,000 people in the upper bracket.

He had warned beforehand that the budget would involve "tough decisions" to deal with the economic climate.

The budget comes the day after the ONS revealed that inflation had now reached 11.1% - yet another 40-year high.