UK may miss budget target

UK chancellor George Osborne is on the verge of missing his target for cutting the budget deficit in the current financial year, official data showed yesterday.

Mr Osborne, who is under fire for proposing cuts to disability welfare payments last week, is aiming to bring the budget deficit down to £72.2bn (€92.4bn) in the 2015/2016 financial year.

However, with only one month to go until the end of the tax year, the budget deficit already stands at £70.7bn, the UK Office for National Statistics said after borrowing fell less than expected in February to £7.1bn.