The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has admitted that its confidential fiscal report was leaked before last week's Budget announcement due to repeated 'technical errors' made by its own staff. The same mistake also allowed premature access to the Spring Statement in March 2025.
A 'Worst Failure' in 15 Years
In a damning internal review, the independent fiscal watchdog described the incident as its 'worst failure' in the organisation's 15-year history. The review identified 'weaknesses' in the OBR's protections for confidential documents during the Budget process.
It confirmed that measures within the Spring Statement were also 'accessed prematurely' earlier this year. However, the report stated there was 'no evidence' that any of the leaked details were used to gain an unfair advantage.
Root Cause: Download Function and WordPress Flaws
The primary technical failures centred on problems with a document downloading function, which left the fiscal report unprotected, and issues with the WordPress system used to manage the OBR's website. The review was conducted by Professor Ciaran Martin, the former chief of the National Cyber Security Centre.
Professor Martin's investigation confirmed that the early release of the report was not the result of any 'hostile cyber activity' by external actors. The blame was placed firmly on internal procedural and technical shortcomings.
Timeline of a Leak and Calls for Reform
The review provided a full timeline of the leak. The first attempt to access the document occurred at 5:16am on the morning of the Budget. The pages had been uploaded to a 'draft area' of the website around 11:30am, which staff mistakenly believed was inaccessible to the public.
Approximately fifteen minutes later, the first notice of the Budget details appeared in a Reuters news flash. A journalist subsequently informed an OBR representative that Budget information was being published in the media. The OBR did not take the report offline until after Prime Minister's Questions had begun at noon, later posting on X to confirm the leak.
In response, OBR chiefs have concluded they must change how they publish Budget reports. They have suggested that the Treasury should assume greater oversight of publications, citing the OBR's small size as a factor. The body's non-executive officials, Baroness Hogg and Dame Susan Rice, have urged a search for any other historical examples of premature access.
The OBR has also urged other public sector departments to review their own handling of 'sensitive material'. OBR chair Richard Hughes is scheduled to appear before MPs on Tuesday morning to answer questions regarding the fiscal report and the leak.
The political fallout was immediate. In the Commons, Mel Stride raised a point of order to complain about the leak, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves seen nodding in agreement with the criticism. Earlier that day, Labour leader Keir Starmer condemned the leak as a 'massive discourtesy' to Parliament for releasing 'market sensitive' information prematurely.
