The national debt breached the £1 trillion mark for the first time on Tuesday, despite lower than expected public borrowing in December. 

Total public sector net debt rose to £1.004 trillion (64 per cent of GDP) in December, the highest since records began in 1993. 

But the government denied the figures indicated the austerity cuts, precisely aimed at reducing the national debt, weren’t working. Instead the new figures underlined the need for the cuts, said the Treasury. 

“[This] shows the unsustainable level of spending this country built up over the past few years, and shows why it is critical for our nation’s future that we deal decisively with the deficit,” a Treasury spokesman said, according to the Guardian. 

The Office for National Statistics said that public sector net borrowing fell to £13.708 billion last month from £15.912 billion in December 2010.

The annual drop in borrowing was greater than that forecast by some economists, boosted by tax returns from the bank levy imposed on financial institutions, according the Office for National Statistics. 

Tuesday’s data showed that government receipts rose 7.3 per cent on the year, while spending fell 0.9 per cent.