European shares slid 8.5 percent on Friday to mirror a tailspin in Asian stocks, as data suggesting Britain would enter a prolonged recession and torrent of woeful company results rattled jumpy investors. At 0937 GMT the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 8.5% at 798.86 points, having hit its lowest since May 2003 at 796.94 points. Global stocks tumbled to a new five-year low on Friday and demand for the relative safety of government bonds and low-yielding currencies soared. The British economy shrank more than expected and for the first time in 16 years in the third quarter of 2008, official data showed on Friday. The figures will likely boost expectations that the Bank of England will cut interest rates by another 50 basis points next month as the economy looks like heading into its first recession since the early 1990s. Around Europe, Germany's DAX is off 8.8%, France's CAC is lower by 7.9% and London's FTSE is down 7.5%. (Reuters)