The Office for Budget Responsibility has launched an investigation after its economic and fiscal outlook document for the Autumn Budget was released early this morning.
The document was accidentally published on the OBR’s website just before midday, revealing key details of the Budget. This was around an hour and a half before the watchdog was supposed to publish the outlook and 30 minutes before the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, was due to begin delivering her Budget speech. The OBR took the link down at around 12:10pm.
In a statement before Reeves’ Budget announcement, the OBR said the document “went live on our website too early this morning. It has been removed. We apologise for this technical error and have initiated an investigation into how this happened.”
The watchdog added: “We will be reporting to our Oversight Board, the Treasury, and the Commons Treasury Committee on how this happened, and we will make sure this does not happen again.”
Beginning her speech at 12.35pm this afternoon, Reeves said: “It is my understanding that the OBR's economic and financial outlook was released on their website before this statement. This is deeply disappointing and a serious error on their part. The OBR has already made a statement taking full responsibility for their breach.”
Just before Reeves delivered her speech, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride raised a point of order, saying the "unprecedent leak" of the document was "utterly outrageous" and "may indeed constitute a criminal act". He asked deputy speaker Nusrat Ghani to advise what steps MPs can take to force a leak inquiry.
Ghani then made a short statement: "For a number of weeks, and yet again yesterday, there have been extensive briefings of the media on the government's fiscal policy and public finances. This disappointing trend in relation to budget briefings has been growing for a number of years under successive governments, but appears to have reached an unprecedented high.
"Weeks ago, we saw the chancellor delivering a speech in Downing Street, setting the scene for the Budget, as well as specific policy announcements being briefed out to the media in advance of today's financial statements. And just a moment ago, it seems the OBR analysis has also appeared online. This all falls short of standards that the house expects. The premature disclosure of the contents of the budget has always been regarded as a supreme discourtesy to this house and to all democratically elected members, not to mention to Mr Speaker and to myself, the chairman of ways and means.
"The government's own ministerial code cannot be clearer. As set out in paragraph 9.1, when parliament is in session, the most important announcement of government policy should be made in the first instance to parliament.
"I want honorable members on all sides of the house to have adequate opportunity to hold the chancellor to account rather than hear and read about new policies on a daily basis in the media. And like many, I also expected better."