Figures come amid row between Labour and Conservatives over true state of public finances
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Strong spending on public services and welfare pushed government borrowing to £3.1bn last month, more than double its level in the same month a year earlier and worse than experts had expected.
Fuelling the row between Labour and the Conservatives over the health of the public finances, the deficit was the highest for a July in three years and £3bn higher than expected by the government’s spending watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility.
