Britain narrowly exited a record recession in the fourth quarter of 2009 with growth of just 0.1 per cent, while massive state debt is likely to stunt recovery beyond a general election due by June.

The Office for National Statistics revealed that the economy grew during the three months to December, compared with the previous three months, after a record recession which lasted six quarters.

The news means that Spain is the only major western power still trapped in a deep recession following the aftermath of the global financial crisis and the subsequent worldwide downturn.

"Gross Domestic Product increased 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with a decrease of 0.2 per cent in the third quarter," the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

"The rise in output was due to growths in services and production," the ONS added.

However, the figure disappointed market watchers, who had expected a return to growth of 0.4 per cent in the final three months of 2009.

The pound slumped against rival currencies following the ONS estimate, while London's benchmark FTSE 100 stock market index remained about 0.60 per cent lower.

The ONS added that the British economy shrank by 4.8 per cent over the course of 2009, compared with the previous year - the biggest annual contraction on record.

Britain's government had forecast contraction of 4.75 per cent in 2009, while the country's economy has shrunk by six per cent since the recession began in the second quarter of 2008.

Confirmation of Britain's departure from recession may not be enough for Prime Minister Gordon Brown to keep his job following a looming general election.

Government borrowing is predicted to strike a record £178 billion (€203 billion) in the 2009/10 financial year which ends in April.

However, Brown insisted Monday that now was not the right time to cut state aid, despite the mountain of debt that was largely caused by the multi-billion-pound bailouts of struggling British banks.