Government borrowing remained unchanged last month amid growing expectations George Osborne will abandon his deadline to start lowering UK debt within three years.

Public-sector net borrowing, excluding interventions such as bank bailouts, was £14.4 billion in August, equal to borrowing in the same month last year.

It will pile pressure on the Chancellor, who is expected to announce in December's autumn statement that he will be unable to start bringing down debt as a percentage of GDP in 2015/16.

On Thursday, Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King said such a move would be acceptable.

Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke said: "Today's figures show the Government borrowed almost £7bn less last year than previously estimated by the independent Office for National Statistics, down nearly £40bn from the peak of two years ago."

He said this was "further evidence that we are dealing with our debts and getting the deficit down".

Public-sector net borrowing in the financial year to date was £59bn, the Office for National Statistics said, excluding a one-off £28bn boost from the transfer of the Royal Mail pension fund into Treasury ownership.

The Chancellor wants to record borrowing of £120bn for 2012/2013, excluding the Royal Mail pension effect, compared with a downwardly revised £119.3bn in the previous year.

But his chances of hitting this target are looking increasingly slim, according to most economists, as the ongoing recession impacts on tax receipts and Government spending.

If Mr Osborne sticks to the debt target, he will be faced with announcing potentially large tax rises and further spending cuts in his autumn statement.

On Thursday, Sir Mervyn said he would not complain if the target relating to the supplementary rule on debt was missed.

He said: "If it's because the world economy has grown slowly, so we have in turn grown slowly, then that would be acceptable."

Labour said it showed the Government's economic plan was failing.