Double blow to Healey as inflation rises to 3.5% and monthly deficit hits £24bn

Consumer prices rise by more than expected while government’s debt interest payments surge to record high for September

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Inflation surged to 3.5% last month while the government deficit was a worse-than-forecast £24.5bn, in a double dose of bad news for John Healey before next week’s budget.

The Office for National Statistics said annual inflation rose from 3.1% in August, overshooting City forecasts of a rise in the consumer prices index (CPI) to 3.4%, as a result of the surging cost of fuel.