1928 bequest now worth £350m — but lawmakers can’t access it

An anonymous half-million pound bequest to Britain has mushroomed to £350m (€410m) since it was made 85 years ago, trustee Barclays Bank said — but London lawmakers cannot get their hands on it.

The donor left the money in 1928, but said it should only be handed over once Britain had amassed enough funds to pay off its entire national debt, which now totals $1.2 trillion.

News of the current size of the potential payout came weeks after Britain’s government struggled with the terms of another half million pound donation, in the will of retired nurse Joan Edwards.