LONDON (Reuters) – British finance minister Rishi Sunak again defended record public spending during the coronavirus pandemic after official figures on Friday showed public borrowing reached 270.6 billion pounds ($378 billion) in the 10 months to January.

“This is the fiscally responsible thing to do and the best way to support sustainable public finances in the medium-term,” he said of more than 280 billion pounds of extra spending and tax reductions since March.

“Once our economy begins to recover, we should look to return the public finances to a more sustainable footing,” he added, sticking closely to previous language on the topic ahead of his annual budget on March 3.

($1 = 0.7152 pounds)

(Reporting by David Milliken; editing by William James)