official measure of UK retail sales provides further evidence that April's pick-up in high street spending was just a temporary reflection of the warm weather, Royal Wedding and extra bank holiday … accordingly, the underlying trend in sales over the past several months still looks broadly flat at best."

The ONS said that food and fuel now accounted for more than half of all spending, adds a BBC report.

However, the ONS said that May's figures showed consumers were now cutting back because of the tough economic climate, worries about rising fuel prices and job uncertainty.

Food expenditure was down 3.5% in May, and this was the biggest monthly decline in food store sales since June 2008, says the BBC report.

The figures chimed with warnings from major food retailers earlier inThe Arms Trade Treaty: a major achievement

The Convention on Cluster Munitions: A Commentary

By Stuart Casey-Maslen

On Tuesday, 2 April 2013, after seven years of discussions and negotiations, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the UN Arms Trade Treaty by an overwhelming margin — the first ever global agreement governing the transfer of conventional arms. A total of 154 States voted in favour of the resolution, three voted against, and 23 abstained. The treaty will now be opened for signature on 3 June 2013.

The treaty is a strong and balanced text that clearly enjoys very widespread support, and if adhered to and implemented in good faith it will significantly reduce the humanitarian impact from the irresponsible transfer of weapons. That it is a meaningful treaty is evidenced by the fact