Government borrowing has reached a record high of £163bn this year, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics.

This is the largest annual borrowing figure for a UK government in peacetime. Total government debt now stands at £890bn - equivalent to 62% of GDP.

Government borrowing is actually slightly less for the 2009-10 financial year than forecast by Chancellor Alistair Darling in April's Budget.

"The big picture is that this is still the biggest budget deficit since the Second World War. With all parties' fiscal plans based on extremely optimistic economic assumptions and unspecified spending cuts, a further sizeable fiscal squeeze will still be needed after the election, whoever is in charge," said Jonathan Loynes, economist at Capital Economics.