Head of OBR resigns after Budget publishing error

The head of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has resigned from his post after the unprecedented Budget leak error.

OBR chairman Richard Hughes announced his resignation in a letter to Rachel Reeves and chairwoman of the Treasury Select Committee, on Monday to allow the watchdog to “quickly move on” from the leak of the Budget.

The UK chancellor delivered her Budget that raised taxes by £26 billion last Wednesday.

However, the announcement was overshadowed by the leak that saw the OBR publish its assessment of the economy and the chancellor’s plans hours before Reeves’ speech.

The OBR apologised, blaming a “technical error”, and Mr Hughes said an internal investigation had been launched to “get to the fundamental causes and make sure it doesn’t happen again”.

On Monday, the watchdog said its leadership must take “immediate steps to change completely” how it publishes its twice-yearly reports, which contain sensitive forecasts, after it mistakenly released an analysis of the Budget early.

The OBR’s investigation found the leak to be the “worst failure” since the watchdog was created by George Osborne as Conservative Chancellor back in 2010.

It found that the early release of the budget analysis was caused by two errors linked to the WordPress publishing site it used.

Treasury minister James Murray told the Commons on Monday that the early release was a “fundamental breach” of the watchdog’s responsibility.

“Last Wednesday, before the Chancellor had begun to give her Budget speech, the OBR published their entire EFO online,” Murray said.

“Let me be clear, this is a very serious breach of highly sensitive information.

“It is a fundamental breach of the OBR’s responsibility. It is a discourtesy to this House, and it should never have happened.”

Murray also told MPs that he was “very concerned” to learn that the error may have seen the early release of previous forecasts.

When news of Hughes’ resignation broke, the treasury minister thanked him “for his dedication to public service”.

Labour MP Andrew Pakes welcomed the resignation, adding that the leaked documents “could have led to speculation and costs running into millions for us”.

However, the Conservatives warned the UK Government against scapegoating the OBR for the Treasury’s handling of the Budget, and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused the chancellor of using Hughes as a “human shield”.