The figure was more than three times as much as the £2.7bn in interest payments seen in June 2020. The reason was a surge in inflation, which raised the value of index-linked government bonds. Overall borrowing - the difference between spending and tax income - was £22.8bn, which was £5.5bn lower than June last year. However, the figure was the second-highest for June since records began. Borrowing has been hitting record levels, with billions being spent on measures such as furlough payments. But the cost of servicing all that borrowing has been rising too. Government gilts, for instance, are uprated in line with Retail Price Index inflation, which is higher than the headline consumer inflation rate.