Fall in UK tax receipts and business support fuel record October borrowing

Monthly borrowing hits 22.3bn as Covid crisis forces debt pile up to highest proportion of GDP since 1960s

A steep fall in tax receipts and the extra cost of government subsidies for businesses and the self-employed pushed UK government borrowing last month to its highest level for October since records began in 1993.

In the latest reading of the government's finances ahead of the chancellor's spending review next week, the Office for National Statistics said monthly borrowing had hit 22.3bn in October, up more than 10bn on the same month last year.

The Office for Budget Responsibility is the government's independent forecaster, which gives its verdict on the outlook for growth and the public finances twice a year.