UK Treasury pays off 100 year-old WW1 debt
George Osborne, the chancellor of the exchequer, has announced that the UK will finally repay the debt racked up one-hundred years ago during World War One (WW1).
He claimed that by 1 February all £218m of undated debt will be redeemed.
The first world war was financed in art by national war bonds that were issued back in 1917 and sold in 1927. The UK has since paid £1.26bn in interest on those bonds, according to the Debt Management Office.
Osborne said: “The fact that we will no longer have to pay the high rate of interest on these gilts means that most important of all, today’s decision represents great value for money for the taxpayer."
This payment will mark the first time in 67 years that an undated gilt has been settled, even though £2bn worth of WW1 loans will still exist.
The Treasury is "looking into the practicalities" of paying off all this debt.