The chairman of the UK's fiscal watchdog has stepped down following a major security breach that saw sensitive Budget details published online almost an hour early.
A Resignation and a Damning Verdict
Richard Hughes announced his resignation as chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on Monday, 1st December 2025. His departure comes in the wake of a scathing internal report that labelled the premature publication of economic forecasts as "the worst failure in the 15-year history of the OBR."
In a letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Treasury Committee chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier, Mr Hughes stated he was resigning to allow the independent watchdog to "quickly move on from this regrettable incident." He took "full responsibility" for the procedural shortcomings highlighted by the investigation.
The Technical Failure Behind the Leak
The OBR launched an inquiry after its official forecasts were accidentally uploaded to its public website, revealing key Budget details before Chancellor Reeves had finished delivering her speech in the House of Commons.
The report, published on Monday, concluded the leak was "seriously disruptive to the Chancellor" but was not an intentional act. Instead, it was caused by two critical configuration errors within the WordPress publishing system used by the OBR.
The watchdog admitted it had assumed the platform's built-in protections would prevent unauthorised access, but this assumption proved fatally flawed. The investigation also noted a similar, though apparently unnoticed, premature access incident occurred during the Spring Statement in March.
Political Reactions and the Path Forward
The resignation prompted immediate reaction across the political spectrum. Chancellor Rachel Reeves thanked Mr Hughes for his "many years of public service" and reaffirmed the government's commitment to the OBR's independence. Chief Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, also offered the government's thanks.
Opposition voices were more critical. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the Chancellor of using Mr Hughes as a "human shield" and called for her resignation. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said the OBR needed to learn from its "catastrophic error," while acknowledging Mr Hughes had rightly taken responsibility.
The OBR's report outlined urgent recommendations to overhaul its publication process, including potentially using government digital infrastructure or having the Treasury itself publish the forecasts under strict safeguards. The Treasury stated it would begin the search for a new OBR chairman "in the coming weeks."
Mr Hughes, who was first appointed in 2020 and reappointed for a second five-year term just last July, expressed confidence that by implementing the report's findings, the OBR could "quickly regain and restore the confidence and esteem" it had built over 15 years.
