UK government in more debt than ever
21 October 2008
The UK government borrowed a record amount of money last month, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics.
September saw public sector net borrowing hit £8.092 billion in September of this year, compared with £4.775 billion in the same time last year, making the latest figure a record amount for that particular month.
So far this financial year, the government has borrowed £37.6 billion which is the largest amount it has ever taken out since records began in 1946.
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Hugh Pym, Economics Editor for the BBC, called the figures "eye-watering" and warned that the amount the government needs to borrow will only increase with the ongoing economic downturn.
According to the broadcaster, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has insisted that the British economy is in a good position, claiming that with low interest rates and inflation expected to fall, Britain was "stronger than at any other previous downturn".
However, Global Insight Economist Howard Archer said that the public finances in September were "dreadful, deteriorating even more than expected", reports the Guardian.
