Is Britain bust?
Updated on 19 February 2009
One and a half trillion pounds, that is how much Britain's national debt could shoot up, thanks to the cost of bailing out the banks.
£1.5tn is equivalent to almost the entire economic output of the UK.
The grim estimate by the National Office of Statistics is far higher than the chancellor's pre-budget forecasts.
The first time the billions poured into the ailing banks has been taken into account.
And the deepening recession is also denting the government's income from tax.
