UK well placed to recover - Darling - News in brief

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He spoke after the Office for National Statistics revealed that public borrowing in February soared to £9bn, bringing the total in the 11 months of the financial year so far to a record £75.2bn.

The worsening state of the public finances was driven by a fall of almost 10% in Government tax receipts over the month, partially due to falling bonuses paid in the financial sector.

Mr Darling, facing the House of Commons Treasury Committee, was urged by a Tory MP to "level with" voters and say whether he really still believed Britain was better placed than most to overcome the global recession.

Mr Darling responded: "I think it was right and that's why I said it. We have come off the back of 10 years of steady growth. Obviously the situation has deteriorated quite markedly in the back end of 2008 but if you look at our debt levels at the moment, we are better-placed than many other countries."

He added: "There is no doubt we are, like other countries, facing a very turbulent period. But if you look at the position at the moment, I believe that provided we maintain our support for the economy as I set out in the Pre-Budget Report and provided that we make it clear that in the medium term all countries have to live within their means, then I believe we can get through this."

Mr Darling was giving evidence to the committee's inquiry into the banking crisis, at which he accepted that "mistakes" were made in the regulatory system for Britain's financial sector.

But Mr Darling rejected suggestions the Government should have been able to foresee the scale of the problems which have engulfed the banks over the past year.

He gave his backing to proposals in this week's report by Financial Services Authority chairman Lord Turner for more "intrusive" regulation of banks.

But he resisted calls for a salary cap for executives in institutions bailed out by the state, similar to the limit imposed by US President Barack Obama, warning that it could prevent banks such as Lloyds and RBS from recruiting the staff they need to recover their position.