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The Government’s debt mountain has topped £1.6TRILLION for the first time, figures have revealed.

Public sector borrowing jumped another £9.7billion in May - equivalent to £3,621 a second, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Economists say George Osborne is almost certain to miss his self-imposed target of balancing the books by 2020, regardless of whether the UK stays in the EU or not.

Last month saw the Government again spend more than it collected in taxes, resulting in the £9.7bn of borrowing.

The figure was £400million lower than a year ago after Osborne raked in more in national insurance, income tax, corporation tax and VAT.

However, the Tories have also been forced to shell out £4.6bn in interest on the debt mountain – £700m more than a year ago.

The £1.6trillion of debt, built up over time, is equal to nearly 84% of everything the economy produces in a year.

If you include the debts of banks bailed out by the taxpayer during the financial crisis, and still owing money, then the Government is left owing close to an eye watering £1.9trillion.

Read more:Osborne misses own borrowing target by £1.8BILLION sparking fears of more cuts

Both the Treasury and Bank of England say the economy is suffering from uncertainty about the outcome of this week’s EU referendum .

Economist Samuel Tombs, of Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “Hefty public borrowing reflects the impact of uncertainty created by the referendum on the economy.

"But even if the UK votes to remain, we think the Chancellor only has a slim chance of meeting his budget surplus goal.”

David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Stabilising the public finances remains a critical task, without which it will be difficult to achieve sustainable long-term economic growth.”