It's even worse than we feared: Cost of national debt to each family is a staggering £138,360

Daily Mail
"Britain's debt mountain is the equivalent of £138,360 for each household in the country, research reveals today.The national debt is even larger than initially feared, according to a think-tank.Official figures, from the Office for National Statistics, show the total public sector debt is estimated to be £876billion, equal to £33,100 per household. If the debt from the banks rescued by the State is included, the figure balloons to £2,252billion, according to the ONS.The banks are Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley, which have all been rescued since February 2008.But the Centre for Policy Studies think-tank says in a report that the real figure is £3,617billion, which is four times larger than the original ‘bank-free’ figure.Brooks Newmark, Tory MP and co-author of the report, The Hidden Debt Bombshell, said: ‘The size of the country’s debt is bad, but actually it is even worse than people think.'We have to be honest with taxpayers about the true extent of the liabilities. Otherwise, it is Enron accounting.’This is a reference to the American energy giant which collapsed into bankruptcy a decade ago after a web of false accounting was uncovered.Experts said the figures highlight the urgent need to sort out Britain’s debts or risk a financial crisis like the one unfolding in Portugal. The CPS report says Britain’s debts are larger because three vital factors are excluded from the Government’s accounts."