The chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility has described feeling "personally mortified" after budget documents were accidentally released nearly 45 minutes early, prompting an immediate investigation involving former cybersecurity leadership.
Security Breach Details
Richard Hughes, head of the independent fiscal watchdog, revealed that the Economic and Fiscal Outlook document became accessible from outside the organisation before Chancellor Rachel Reeves was due to deliver her budget statement in the House of Commons. "The documents weren't published on our webpage itself," Hughes explained during an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today Programme. "It appears there was a link that someone was able to access - an external person. We need to get to the bottom of what exactly happened."
The early release meant key details of Reeves's budget, including £26 billion in tax increases and policies addressing weaker economic forecasts, became public before their official parliamentary announcement. Hughes has since apologised to both the chancellor and Meg Hillier, chair of the Treasury select committee, acknowledging that the OBR had "let people down" despite priding itself on professionalism.
Investigation and Consequences
The investigation will be supported by Ciaran Martin, former chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, with findings expected by early next week. Hughes has committed to resigning if both the chancellor and Treasury committee chair lose confidence in his leadership following the investigation's conclusions. "Personally, I serve day to day subject to the confidence of the chancellor and the Treasury committee," Hughes stated at a Resolution Foundation event. "If they both conclude in light of that investigation they no longer have confidence in me, then of course I will resign."
Despite the serious nature of the breach, Chancellor Reeves has publicly expressed continued confidence in Hughes, though she acknowledged the incident caused disruption to parliamentary proceedings. The relationship between the Treasury and OBR has experienced tension in recent months, particularly regarding the timing of productivity forecast reviews and fiscal rule assessments.
Political Reactions and Reform Calls
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride described the incident as "both unprecedented and deeply worrying" while speaking on LBC, suggesting the watchdog requires reform despite generally being fit for purpose. The leak comes at a sensitive time for the OBR, which recently prompted Reeves to seek £5 billion in welfare cuts during the spring statement after judging she risked breaking her fiscal rules - cuts that were subsequently abandoned following backbench opposition.
As part of budget announcements, Reeves confirmed the OBR will now assess whether fiscal rules are met once annually during the budget, rather than alongside the spring statement. The investigation led by Martin aims to identify the exact circumstances that allowed the premature access and ensure similar security breaches cannot occur in future budget processes.
