Published: Tuesday, 21 Jul 2009 | 4:59 AM ET

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Britain's budget deficit last month hit its highest level for a month of June on record as tax receipts crumbled in the wake of the country's worst downturn in decades.

The Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday the public sector posted a net cash requirement of 18.980 billion pounds in June, slightly lower than the 20 billion pounds expected by analysts but a record high for the month.

The government's preferred accruals-based measure, public sector net borrowing, came in at 13.002 billion pounds, lower than the 15.5 billion pounds forecast but also a June record.

Public borrowing for May was revised lower by some 1.3 billion pounds to 18.582 billion pounds.

Despite the better than expected figures, the public finances remain on a sharply deteriorating path.

Sharon Lorimer

In the April to June period, public sector net borrowing stood at 41.180 billion pounds, nearly double the level in the same period a year ago.

The government has forecast borrowing for the full year of 175 billion pounds, a record post-war high.

The latest figures take public sector net debt as a percentage of GDP to 56.6 percent, the highest since records began in 1974.

The ONS said the Lloyds Banking Group's offer of ordinary shares to redeem preference shares held by the government reduced the CGNCR by around 2.5 billion pounds but was neutral for the public sector overall.

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