Darling says recession far from over

LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor Alistair Darling said on Wednesday the country was "far from through" the recession, and that the job to achieve economic recovery was a long way from completion.

In an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, Darling repeatedly used the word 'difficult' to describe the economic outlook, after economic data suggested his November forecasts were over-optimistic.

"In the current climate, no responsible finance minister could say that the job's done, far from it. We are far from through this," Darling told the newspaper.

The chancellor said at his pre-budget report in November that growth in 2009 would be between -0.75 percent and -1.25 percent, with a recovery expected in 2010.

(Reporting by John Bowker, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)