Jefferies, the investment bank, has predicted that the UK will manage just 0.2 per cent growth this year

UK growth will be downgraded sharply to its lowest since the 2009 recession in today’s budget even before the impact of coronavirus is taken into account.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will forecast a cut in GDP growth for this year and next, according to a consensus of independent estimates published by the Treasury.

Britain’s productivity problem will be reflected in the downgrade but the coronavirus shock will not, because the OBR had fixed its projections before the outbreak spread to the West.

Official forecasts will highlight underlying weakness in the economy. A year ago the OBR forecast growth of 1.4 per cent in 2020 and 1.6 per cent for each of the next three years. The consensus of estimates was 1.1 per cent