Why Britons are facing a mortgage time bomb

In the autumn of 2019, Britain felt like a ­tumultuous place. Boris Johnson had just secured his position as prime minister amid protracted Brexit negotiations that cost Theresa May her job while the economy was flatlining, under pressure from weak consumer confidence and a global economic slowdown.

Yet amid the uncertainty, one thing seemed a given — that the cost of ­borrowing would remain at rock bottom.

That view was cemented by lenders falling over themselves to offer deals that had never been seen before. ­Anyone with a good credit rating and a decent amount of equity in their home could secure a mortgage at less than 1 per cent and fix it for two, three or five years.

Many took the opportunity, although with