UK public borrowing hits record in April

[May 24, 2011]  LONDON (AP) -- Britain's public borrowing has surpassed the highest level ever recorded for the month of April -- dealing a blow to the government's much-hyped deficit reduction plans.

The Office for National Statistics said Tuesday that public borrowing, excluding financial interventions such as bank bailouts, hit 10 billion pounds ($16 billion) in April, compared with 7.3 billion pounds the previous year.

That's far higher than economists' forecast of around 6.5 billion pounds, casting doubt on whether the Conservative-led coalition government can meet its target of bringing the budget deficit down to 122 billion pounds this year.

The Statistics Office said tax receipts in April last year were boosted by a one-off tax on bankers' bonuses that brought in 3.5 billion pounds.

[Associated Press]

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