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Tuesday, Dec 02, 2025
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Head of UK fiscal watchdog quits after Budget leak
Richard Hughes resigns as chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility following premature release of Budget report
The chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), Richard Hughes, has resigned after the independent fiscal watchdog inadvertently published key Budget documents before the government’s official presentation.
The early release — of the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) — occurred roughly an hour ahead of Rachel Reeves’ Budget speech, triggering sharp reactions in both Parliament and financial markets.
An internal review, led by the watchdog’s chief of staff, concluded the leak was the worst failure in the OBR’s fifteen-year history.
The report found that the body’s WordPress-based publication system was misconfigured — allowing the sensitive document to go live prematurely.
Ultimate responsibility for the lapse was placed on OBR leadership.
In his resignation letter to the Chancellor and the relevant Treasury committee, Hughes accepted “full responsibility” and wrote that stepping down was “in the best interest of the OBR” so that the organisation could move beyond the incident.
The OBR normally releases its forecasts only after the Chancellor has delivered the Budget, so that policy proposals and fiscal projections emerge simultaneously.
This protocol is designed to prevent market-sensitive information from influencing trading or political debate in advance.
The leak not only undermined trust in the OBR’s operational integrity but also exposed serious flaws in its technical infrastructure — flaws that went undetected despite earlier warnings.
The watchdog has pledged reforms to secure its publication process and ensure no recurrence.
While the resignation does not directly implicate political actors, the fallout is likely to cast a shadow over the UK’s fiscal institutions, at a moment when the government seeks public confidence in its tax and spending plans.
The incident underscores how even long-established institutional safeguards can unravel when technology, haste and human error intersect.
It remains to be seen whether the OBR can rapidly restore its credibility — or whether its misstep marks the start of deeper institutional scrutiny and reform in Britain’s fiscal governance.
The early release — of the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) — occurred roughly an hour ahead of Rachel Reeves’ Budget speech, triggering sharp reactions in both Parliament and financial markets.
An internal review, led by the watchdog’s chief of staff, concluded the leak was the worst failure in the OBR’s fifteen-year history.
The report found that the body’s WordPress-based publication system was misconfigured — allowing the sensitive document to go live prematurely.
Ultimate responsibility for the lapse was placed on OBR leadership.
In his resignation letter to the Chancellor and the relevant Treasury committee, Hughes accepted “full responsibility” and wrote that stepping down was “in the best interest of the OBR” so that the organisation could move beyond the incident.
The OBR normally releases its forecasts only after the Chancellor has delivered the Budget, so that policy proposals and fiscal projections emerge simultaneously.
This protocol is designed to prevent market-sensitive information from influencing trading or political debate in advance.
The leak not only undermined trust in the OBR’s operational integrity but also exposed serious flaws in its technical infrastructure — flaws that went undetected despite earlier warnings.
The watchdog has pledged reforms to secure its publication process and ensure no recurrence.
While the resignation does not directly implicate political actors, the fallout is likely to cast a shadow over the UK’s fiscal institutions, at a moment when the government seeks public confidence in its tax and spending plans.
The incident underscores how even long-established institutional safeguards can unravel when technology, haste and human error intersect.
It remains to be seen whether the OBR can rapidly restore its credibility — or whether its misstep marks the start of deeper institutional scrutiny and reform in Britain’s fiscal governance.
