Report puts UK national debt at nearly £5trillion
The Institute of Economic Affairs has estimated that the national debt including pension liabilities and likely liabilities to be incurred by the government in respect of the banking sector is £4.8 trillion (333% of GDP).
The institute stated that its figure is over six times the size of the official government figure of £772bn (54% of GDP).
According to the independent think-tank, on this measure, the UK's debt has increased by £674bn (16%) since 2008 and national debt per person is about £78,000.
Nick Silver, fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: "Much of the discussion about public spending cuts in the UK is not grounded in reality. The scale of the national debt is substantially worse than
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