UK debt passes £1trn mark for first time

The UK's public debt pile has climbed above £1trn for the first time ever, after the government borrowed almost £14bn last month.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed net borrowing of £13.7bn in December, pushing the country's overall net debt above the £1trn mark. Total net debt is now £1.004bn, equal to 64.2% of GDP. This figure was the highest since records began in 1993. The widely expected figure also excludes the government's intervention in the financial sector, by discounting the debts of semi-nationalised banks Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group which are majority owned by the government. A current budget deficit of £10.8bn was recorded in December 2011...