UK economic growth slowed more sharply than first thought between July and September and fears are mounting that Omicron and accompanying control measures will send the recovery into reverse. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the economy expanded by 1.1 percent in the third quarter, compared with an initial estimate of 1.3 percent. This marks a sharp pullback on growth in the second quarter, when UK output increased by a revised 5.4 percent following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. It comes even before the impact of Omicron, which is widely expected to see the economy contract in December as consumers retrench in the face of the new variant and restrictions to control it, with worries that further measures could also affect the first quarter of 2022. (PA Graphics) The ONS blamed the downward revision to third-quarter figures on weaker spending on services such as hairdressing, as well as the …