The Treasury confirmed this morning it had also sold a further 1% of Lloyds shares, taking the government’s stake to below 19%.

The latest Lloyds share sale mean that the government has recovered almost £3.5bn for the taxpayer from the trading plan, bringing the total recovered from Lloyds to over £10.5bn.

The trading plan, launched in December 2014, was due to end no later than the 30 June 2015. The extension announced today means that the plan will now end no later than 31 December 2015.

Shares have been sold through the trading plan for an average price of over 80p, well above the average 73.6p originally paid for the shares.

Chancellor George Osborne said: “We’re determined to get on with the job of returning Lloyds to private ownership. That’s why I’m extending the plan for six months so that we can make even more progress in returning money to the taxpayer and paying down the national debt.”