£2trillion... new record for UK debt

BRITAIN’S national debt has burst through the £2trillion barrier for the first time ever, official figures revealed yesterday.

With huge sums being paid out as a result of the ongoing Covid pandemic, UK government debt stood at £2.004trillion at the end of July.

That is £227.6billion more than this time last year, the Office for National Statistics said.

The vast sum means that, for the first time in 60 years, the Government now owes more than GDP – the value of the country’s economy.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “This crisis has put the public finances under significant strain as we have seen a hit to our economy and taken action to support millions of jobs, businesses and livelihoods. Without that support things would have been far worse.

Hope

“Today’s figures are a stark reminder that we must return our public finances to a sustainable footing over time, which will require taking difficult decisions.

“It is why we are taking action now to support the growth and jobs which pay for our public services by helping businesses to reopen safely... protecting, supporting and creating jobs to ensure that nobody is left without hope.”

Ruth Gregory, senior UK economist at Capital Economics, said: “The £26.7billion the Government borrowed in July was the lowest monthly figure since March as fiscal support started to unwind. Nonetheless, it is another huge sum and pushes borrowing in the year to date to £150.5billion.”