Britain at risk of worse deficit crisis than Greece

In surprise news which sent the pound sliding on Thursday, official figures showed that the Government borrowed £4.3 billion last month.

It was the first time since 1993 that the public finances had gone into the red in January – a month in which tax revenues usually push the Exchequer into the black.

Economists said that the scale of the shortfall in the budget could this year mount to above £180 billion – higher than even the Chancellor's forecast of a record £178 billion.

Such a deficit would, at 12.8 per cent of British gross domestic product, be even greater than the deficit faced in Greece, which is facing a full-scale fiscal crisis and may need to be bailed out by fellow euro nations or the International Monetary Fund.

The public borrowing figures coincided with further bad news from the housing market, as the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported that mortgage lending dropped last month by 32 per cent, hitting the lowest monthly total in a decade.

The Bank of England also reported a decline in lending to businesses, indicating that the economic slowdown is far from over.

The poor economic figures came as a major blow for the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, coming a month ahead of the Budget, which he had hoped would provide proof that the economy was finally on the mend.

The news also came ahead of Gordon Brown's unofficial launch to the Labour election campaign, which the Prime Minister hopes to base on his party's economic record and policies.

~ more... ~