Sunak says of soaring borrowing: things could have been far worse

LONDON (Reuters) - After statistics showed state borrowing had soared while tax receipts had fallen, British finance minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday that things could have been far worse had the government not acted to protect livelihoods.

"Whilst it's clear that the coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on our public finances, things would have been far worse had we not acted in the way we did to protect millions of livelihoods," Sunak said.

"Over time and as the economy recovers, the government will take the necessary steps to ensure the long-term health of the public finances," he said.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Kate Holton)