The ONS said that the coronavirus pandemic “has had a substantial impact on the economy and subsequently on public sector borrowing and debt”.
It added that both tax receipts and National Insurance contributions tumbled as public sector borrowing grew by a further £28bn in March.
The huge sums that the Government has borrowed during the Covid-19 crisis have pushed the deficit to its highest point since the end of the Second World War, according to new figures.
This was 14.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), the highest level since 1946, when the deficit hit 15.2% of GDP.
It is a rise from a deficit of £57 billion in the tax year ending March 2020.
It pushed public sector net debt up to £2,141.7 billion, which is 97.7% of GDP – the biggest proportion since the early 1960s.
