UK's Hunt says budget plan likely to show recession ahead

British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said the budget plan he is set to announce on Thursday will include forecasts similar to those of the Bank of England which warned of a long recession ahead, The Times quoted him as saying on Saturday.

"I think it's very likely ... the question is not really whether we're in recession, but what we can do to make it shorter and shallower," Hunt told the newspaper in an interview.