UK government to announce £16-billion asset sale

Britain's prime minister Gordon Brown is to announce the sale of £16 billion worth of assets by the government in a bid to shore up public finances, the BBC reported yesterday.

The sale of public assets will help cut the government's mounting deficit.

Britain's budget deficit is expected to hit a record £220 billion this year, or 12 per cent of gross domestic product.

The Conservatives said the sale was "probably necessary" but "no substitute for a long-term plan".

''The sale marks the beginning of a radical assessment of what other non-core government business activities can best be done by, or in partnership with, the private sector,'' the prime minister's office said.

However Downing Street added that although these actions are important, a vital force for debt reduction will be the restoration of strong, sustainable growth within the economy.