THERE may have been a national sigh of relief yesterday as Britain officially emerged from recession – but there was no cause for real celebration.

After contracting for six consecutive quarters, the UK economy grew by 0.1 per cent in the last three months of 2009.

It is encouraging news, certainly, but there are no grounds for getting carried away.

It is not the level of recovery which the Government hoped would form a solid foundation for its election campaign.

We have limped painfully out of the slump and sustaining the improvement is going to be exceedingly challenging.

The public finances remain in a terrible state, with deep cuts and higher taxes a certainty whichever party wins the General Election.

Here in the North-East, our darkest economic cloud still hangs over 1,600 jobs at Teesside Cast Products in Redcar.

Although we reveal today that the Government is pursuing a potential investor in the plant, it is important to be realistic.

The talks have hit an impasse because a third party cannot be found to take a minority stake in the plant.

In an effort to break the deadlock, the Prime Minister has dispatched a personal representative to conduct negotiations.

That intervention is the clearest evidence yet that efforts are being made at the highest level to pull a lastminute deal out of the fire.

There is a spark of hope but – like the economy – the long-term survival of Teesside Cast Products is far from assured.