Nabil Taleb, economist at PwC UK, said the increase in borrowing for February “partly reflects the timing of payments, with some interest due at the end of January falling into February because of the intervening weekend”.
The leap to the second highest borrowing for February on record, a number not adjusted for inflation, is a sharp change from the record surplus in January.
Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter, said there were some “glimmers of hope that government borrowing was beginning to be reined in as tax rises helped to create the largest January surplus on record”.
“The latest data out this morning, however, has put a swift end to that picture,” she added.
James said the about-turn in public sector finances was “largely due to record levels of interest payable, highlighting the sheer scale of debt interest the government is now facing”.
Around £1 in every £10 is still currently spent on debt interest, which ministers said needed to be addressed so more could be spent on policing, schools and the NHS.
The ONS provisionally estimated the amount of government debt to be at 93.1% of the size of the UK economy at the end of February 2026, which means it remains at levels last seen in the early 1960s.