Melchett,
Not quite the case althoigh the numbers have been on an upward trend. A better measure is the percentage of GDP. This peaked at 47.7% in 2009/10 and currently is 44%. It is projected to fall to 39.5% in 2017/18. Out of interest the annual bill to service the debt is now over 30bn...about £1000 per tax payer. To put that in perspective, if that were paid out of income tax someone earning £60000 a year would be contributing over £200 a month to that bill. We're in a mess!