The head of the UK's fiscal watchdog has suggested an external actor could be responsible for the premature leak of Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Budget plans, in an embarrassing security breach that forced an apology and sparked resignation calls.
An Unprecedented Security Failure
The Office for Budget Responsibility faced humiliation on Wednesday when it published its latest fiscal outlook ahead of the Chancellor's official Budget statement. The early release meant Rachel Reeves' tax and spending decisions became widely known more than 40 minutes before she was due to announce them in Parliament.
OBR chairman Richard Hughes has batted away immediate calls for his resignation while an investigation is carried out. Both he and the OBR issued grovelling apologies for what has been described as an unprecedented leak of sensitive government information.
External Interference Suspected
In a revealing interview with BBC Radio 4 on Thursday, Mr Hughes suggested the breach may not have been an internal error. "Well, the documents weren't published on our webpage itself," he explained. "It appears there was a link that someone was able to access – an external person."
This marks a significant shift from the OBR's initial statement on Wednesday, which blamed a "technical error" within the organisation for the early release. The watchdog has now drafted in Professor Ciaran Martin, the former head of the National Cyber Security Centre, to assist with the investigation.
Mr Hughes promised a full report to both Parliament and the Treasury, stating: "We need to get to the bottom of what exactly happened. We're going to do a full investigation. We're going to do that work quickly so people can have assurance in our systems."
Political Fallout and Confidence Questions
The leak has triggered significant political repercussions, with demands for Mr Hughes to resign immediately. However, the OBR chairman later stated he would only quit if MPs and the Chancellor lost confidence in him following the investigation.
At a Resolution Foundation event, Mr Hughes declared: "Personally, I serve day-to-day subject to the confidence of the Chancellor and the Treasury Committee. If they both conclude, in light of that investigation, they no longer have confidence in me then, of course, I will resign."
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has expressed disappointment but maintained her support, telling Sky News: "Richard Hughes wrote to me yesterday evening, apologising for their error. It was a serious error, a serious breach. They have announced an investigation which will report to me very quickly. But I do have confidence in Richard and the OBR."
She emphasised that the incident "must never happen again" after discovering the early release while preparing to deliver her Budget in the House of Commons.
The opposition response came from Tory shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride, who told LBC that while the OBR "needs reform" after this "unprecedented and deeply worrying" incident, he believed the independent body remained generally fit for purpose.
The leaked OBR report contained crucial economic forecasts and details of Ms Reeves' tax rises intended to partly fund increased welfare spending, information traditionally kept under strict embargo until after the Chancellor's Commons statement.
