UK Borrows Record 128 Billion Pounds in Three Months to June

People are seen walking on a street in Manchester, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Manchester, Britain, on May 4, 2020. Phil Noble/Reuters

LONDON—British government borrowing surged to a record 128 billion pounds ($162 billion) in the first three months of the 2020/21 financial year, when COVID-19 lockdown measures were tightest, more than double the entire previous year’s borrowing.

Most economists think British government borrowing this year will be its largest since World War Two relative to the size of the economy.