Britain posts largest April budget deficit

London: Britain posted its largest April budget deficit since monthly records began in 1993, highlighting the scale of the squeeze to come as Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne prepares to deliver an emergency budget.

The £10 billion (€8.21bn) shortfall compared with £8.8bn a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said in London. The result was below the £10.9bn median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.

The report sets the scene for what economists say will be the sharpest cuts in public spending for a generation. Osborne has ordered departments to find £6bn of savings this year and will set out further measures in his June 22 budget.