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Britain's GDP fell 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2012, giving rise to fears that the country will slip into a rare 'triple dip' recession, following downturns during the financial crisis and at the end of 2011.

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A man walks past a car scrap yard in east London Jan. 25, 2013. Britain’s economy shrank more than expected at the end of 2012 as a North Sea oil production slump, lower factory output and a hangover from London’s Olympics took effect.PAUL HACKETT/Reuters

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A digger operates in front of the Olympic Stadium, six months after the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, in east London Jan. 25, 2013.OLIVIA HARRIS/Reuters

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A workman walks in front of the velodrome in the Olympic Park, as it undergoes a transformation into a new venue to be called the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.OLIVIA HARRIS/Reuters

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A pedestrian walks past a shuttered shop in London, Jan. 25, 2013. Britain's economy contracted by a worse-than-expected 0.3 per cent in the last three months of 2012.Kirsty Wigglesworth/The Associated Press

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Builders work on a construction site in London Jan. 25, 2013.Kirsty Wigglesworth/The Associated Press

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A man walks past a closed shop in east London. A bout of wintry weather this month also reduced retail sales and travel spending.PAUL HACKETT/Reuters

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The Olympic Stadium and the AcelorMittal Orbit tower are pictured. Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, expects at best a ‘gentle recovery’ in 2013.OLIVIA HARRIS/Reuters

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The Olympic Stadium is viewed through a fence at the site in east London Jan. 25, 2013.OLIVIA HARRIS/Reuters

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Temporary offices stand at the entrance to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London, where work is progressing.OLIVIA HARRIS/Reuters

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A man walks past a vacant retail premises in east London.PAUL HACKETT/Reuters

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