Interest bill on UK’s £1.27 trillion debt to hit £1bn a week

‘Britain’s huge debt interest bill remains on course to hit £1bn a week this year, after official data showed the Goverment borrowed £3bn more in April than forecast by analysts.

Public sector net borrowing excluding one-off payments related to Royal Mail’s pension plan and quantitative easing gilt coupon transfers, stood at £11.5bn in April, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This was £1.9bn higher than in April 2013, and much higher than the £8.4bn expected by analysts.

The larger-than-expected deficit helped to push up public sector net debt to £1.27 trillion in April, or 75.6pc of gross domestic product (GDP). The interest on Britain’s debt pile is expected to hit £52.1bn this year, according to projections by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – or the equivalent of £1bn a week.’

Read more: Interest bill on UK's £1.27 trillion debt to hit £1bn a week