LONDON - Britain's public deficit widened to a record 19.9 billion pounds (S$47.45 billion) in May as the recession crushed tax revenues, official data showed Thursday.

The public sector net borrowing requirement (PSNBR) - the government's preferred measure of the public finances - stood at the highest level for any month since records began in 1993.

The PSNBR had showed a deficit of 12.2 billion pounds in May 2008, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

Market expectations had been for a deficit of 20 billion, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

"The public finances for May were absolutely dire, deteriorating even more than feared," said IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer in London.

"Tax revenues continued to be decimated across the board by contracting economic activity, declining corporate profitability, elevated and rising unemployment, markedly reduced bonus payments, the VAT cut, and low housing market activity and prices.

"Meanwhile, markedly higher unemployment is also resulting in increased benefit claims, thereby pushing up government expenditure."

Britain's Labour government has forecast net borrowing of 175 billion pounds in the current 2009/10 financial year that began in April.

But the PSNBR has now jumped to 30.5 billion pounds in the first two months of the fiscal year.

The ONS added Thursday that the public sector net cash requirement (PSNCR) - a separate measure of public finances - worsened last month to show a deficit of 18.8 billion pounds, which was almost double a year earlier when it had stood at 9.6 billion pounds.

Analysts' consensus forecasts had forecast a smaller PSNCR deficit of 17.5 billion pounds for May.