Britain just got its first concrete sign that Brexit is going to destroy the economy

Britain just got its first concrete sign that Brexit is going to crush the nation's economy, after a grim set of PMI data released by Markit on Friday morning.

Markit's flash PMI readings for the UK's economy, showed that composite output fell to its lowest level since March 2009, during the tail end of the global financial crisis.

Here is the scoreboard:

• Services PMI - 47.4, down from 52.3 in June and at an 87-month low. The figure was well below the 49.2 forecast.
• Manufacturing PMI - 49.1, a 44-month low, and well below the expected 50 reading.
• Composite PMI - 47.7, a drop from 52.4 in June, and at an 87-month low.

The purchasing managers index (PMI) figures from Markit are given as a number between 0 and 100.

Anything above 50 signals growth, while anything below means a contraction in activity - so the higher the better.

The figures are a flash reading, meaning that they could easily be revised upwards or downwards when final readings come in at the end of the month. However, given that the readings are some of the first hard economic data to be released since Britain voted to leave the EU, and show a massive downturn, they're pretty important.

Speaking about the data, Markit's chief economist Chris Williamson said:

"July saw a dramatic deterioration in the economy, with business activity slumping at the fastest rate since the height of the global financial crisis in early-2009.

"The downturn, whether manifesting itself in order book cancellations, a lack of new orders or the postponement or halting of projects, was most commonly attributed in one way or another to 'Brexit.'"

And here is Markit's terrifying chart, showing just how massive the contraction in post-Brexit Britain has been so far:

Earlier on Friday, Markit data showed that the eurozone economy is currently showing "surprising resilience" to the Brexit vote, with PMIs falling a little in June, but beating the expectations of economists polled before the release, who had predicted a sharper decline.