OBR HEAD QUITS DUE TO LEAK – Head of UK’s OBR quits over early release of budget report
The head of the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility, Richard Hughes, submitted his resignation on Monday, December 1st, after his agency inadvertently released the details of Rachel Reeves’ budget early, according to a letter published on its website.
Last week, he apologised for the early release of details of finance minister Rachel Reeves’ speech and said he would abide by the findings of an investigation when asked if he would resign on Wednesday, November 26th.
The early release of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) document, which was first reported by Reuters, meant the key announcements from the budget – on taxes, economic growth and individual policy changes – were all reported an hour before Reeves stood up to deliver her budget to parliament.
The leak came after months of speculation about what would be in the budget and government U-turns, which business leaders said had already undermined the government’s credibility.
