LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said on Thursday that Britain entered the financial crisis with government borrowing that was too high, and this had prevented it boosting fiscal policy as much as other countries.
The opposition Conservatives are likely to seize on King's words as they have argued that the public finances should have been cleared up when the economy was still growing.
"We entered this crisis with levels of public borrowing which were too high," King told lawmakers. "We have not actually engaged in as big a fiscal relaxation as other countries in recognition of that fact."
King said it was wrong to say the current debt burden was unsustainable but noted that there would have to be some tightening at some stage which would not be comfortable.
"The Chancellor (of the Exchequer) has very clearly recognised that there will need to be a path of fiscal consolidation in the future. And it will take time. It won't be very comfortable and we will have to do it."
(Reporting by Matt Falloon and David Milliken; editing by David Stamp)