In a twist of irony, it seems that the panic buying of petrol caused by the government mishandling of the tanker drivers' dispute may have helped pull Britain out of recession.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a 1.8% month-on-month increase in retail sales volumes and a 3.3% year-on-year rise. The increase was above economist forecasts, and were partly helped by a 4.9% increase in petrol purchases.
