UK public borrowing reaches £19.9bn in May

UK public sector net borrowing reached £19.9bn in May, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This is the biggest figure since the ONS records began in 1993 and means that public sector borrowing has already reached £30bn in the first two months of the financial year.

The total outstanding government debt has now increased to £775bn, which equates to over half of the UK's GDP. This level of debt has increased more than £150bn from one year ago.

Chancellor Alistair Darling has predicted that net borrowing over the year will reach £175bn as the recession hits tax revenues while spending on unemployment benefits rapidly increases.

Rating agency Standard and Poor warned last month that the soaring UK public debt levels had led it to put Britain's credit rating on notice, and that the country's triple-A rating could be downgraded.