Government borrowing soars to record £22bn after nearly doubling in a month

Jeremy Hunt blames Covid and Ukraine for woes, as chancellor promises to half inflation in 2023

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

Borrowing by Rishi Sunak’s government surged to a record £22bn last month following higher interest costs and cost of living payments to households.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said state borrowing leapt £13.9bn compared with the same month last year – the highest figure for November since records began in 1993.

Government borrowing has almost doubled since October when the figure stood at £13.5bn.