Britain's debts near £2 trillion in Covid borrowing spree

The UK government borrowed another £35.5 billion in June as it fought to deal with the fallout from Covid-19.

Public debt is exploding across the globe as governments try to support the economy and fill the gap left by declining tax revenues.

Today’s figure from the Office for National Statistics was £10 billion lower than the UK borrowed in May, which suggests government support is starting to wind down as the economy reopens.

Thomas Pugh at Capital Economics said: “However, government borrowing is still rising at an exceptional rate and we suspect that a slowdown in the recovery and further rise in unemployment later this year will prompt the government to announce additional fiscal spending at the next budget.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been widely praised for his response to the crisis, but some have asked for how long he can look to keep stimulating the economy.

The June figures take borrowing for the fiscal year so far from April to £131 billion.

The UK’s total debt is now nearly £2 trillion.