We are on right economic track: PM

Prime Minister David Cameron has hailed Britain's emergence from double-dip recession as a sign that "we are on the right track, we have got the right approach".

Mr Cameron acknowledged there was "a long road to travel", but insisted that, on economic policy, "we have got to stick with the programme".

He was speaking after the Office for National Statistics issued a preliminary estimate of GDP growth for the third quarter of 1% - outperforming City expectations.

The rise - helped by the impact of the Olympics and a bounceback after Diamond Jubilee bank holidays - is the largest quarterly increase since 2007, and means the UK has escaped its recession after three successive quarters of negative growth.

Speaking during a visit to a factory in south London, Mr Cameron said: "We still have a long way to go and there are still difficulties ahead, but I think these figures do show that we are on the right track, we have got the right approach.

"We can see that with unemployment falling, also with a quarter of the deficit paid down in the last two years. There is more to do but these figures are good progress."

The PM acknowledged that a single quarter's figures must be treated with caution.

"There are always one-off figures in all of these announcements, but I think they do show an underlying picture of good positive growth," he said.

"There's still much more to be done, there is a long road to travel, but we have got the right approach and we must stick with that approach.

"I think these figures show we are on the right track and they are accompanied, of course, by the fact that we have created one million new jobs in the private sector over the last two years. So, we have got to stick with the programme and recognise that these figures are positive."