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The report said the leak was ‘the worst failure in the 15-year history of the OBR’
Nicole Wootton-Cane,David Maddox,Bryony GoochMonday 01 December 2025 16:30 GMTComments
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The Office for Budget Responsibility has said that it appears previous forecasts were “accessed prematurely” in its report following an investigation into the leak of its latest documents before Wednesday’s autumn Budget.
Details of Wednesday’s Budget were mistakenly released to the public almost an hour early when official forecasts from the OBR were uploaded to the watchdog’s website, a significant blunder that prompted an immediate investigation by OBR chair Richard Hughes.
It found logs indicated the March forecast’s IP address was accessed five minutes after the Chancellor started speaking to Parliament and nearly half-an-hour before it should have been published, although there was no evidence of any activity being undertaken as a result of that access.
The OBR concluded that leadership must take “immediate steps to change completely” how it publishes twice-yearly reports containing sensitive forecasts after it mistakenly released an analysis of the Budget early. The incident was decried as “the worst failure in the 15-year history of the OBR.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has maintained her support for Mr Hughes in spite of the leak, as she said she continues to have “a huge amount of respect” for both him and his organisation.
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OBR Budget blunder had happened before, damning report reveals
OBR Budget blunder had happened before, damning report reveals
The report says ‘ultimate responsibility’ rests with the leadership of the OBR, raising major questions for the watchdog’s chair Richard HughesBryony Gooch1 December 2025 16:30Watch: Jonathan Gullis insists ‘not a cat’s chance in hell’ of defecting to Reform in 2024 clip
Jonathan Gullis insists ‘not a cat’s chance in hell’ of defecting to Reform in 2024 clipBryony Gooch1 December 2025 16:21Government backs 'deeper forensic investigation' into previous OBR disclosures
Treasury minister James Murray told the Commons the Government backs a “deeper forensic investigation” into previous Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) disclosures.
“I can confirm the Treasury will be making contact with previous chancellors to make them aware of the developments that relate to previous fiscal events,” Mr Murray said.
He later added: “The Government will be working in conjunction with a National Cyber Security Centre to take forward the recommendation that a forensic examination of other fiscal events is carried out, although let me specifically note for the House that the report finds no evidence of hostile cyber activity.
“In addition, the report says that they could not in the time available carry out a deeper forensic examination of other recent Economic and Fiscal Outlook events, and we recommend that such an exercise is, with expert support, urgently carried out.
“We will make sure that work is carried out urgently.”
Bryony Gooch1 December 2025 16:10Treasury minister 'concerned' to learn OBR error may have seen early release of previous forecasts
James Murray told MPs he was “very concerned” to learn that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) error may have seen the early release of previous forecasts.
Quoting from the watchdog’s investigation, Mr Murray told the Commons: “‘It is very likely that the weaknesses that caused the premature access of the November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) were pre-existing.
“‘Indeed, it appears that the March 2025 EFO was accessed prematurely.'”
Turning to the leak’s impact on the markets, Treasury minister Mr Murray later added: “That market sensitive information have been prematurely accessible to a small group of market participants is extremely concerning.
(Aaron Chown/PA Wire)“That it might have been the case on more than one occasion is even more severe. We do not know at this stage the extent to which market behaviour may have been affected on this or other occasions as a result of information being available early.
“But I do want to share one further bit of information from the report with the House today – on the morning of the Budget, the first IP address to successfully access the EFO had made 32 prior attempts that day, starting at around 5am.
“Such a volume of requests implies that the person attempting to access the document had every confidence that persistence would lead to success at some point, and this unfortunately leads us to consider whether the reason they tried so persistently to access the EFO is because they have been successful at a previous fiscal event.”
Bryony Gooch1 December 2025 16:06OBR leak a 'fundamental breach' of watchdog's responsibility
The early release of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) was a “fundamental breach” of the watchdog’s responsibility, a Treasury minister has said.
James Murray told the Commons: “Last Wednesday, before the Chancellor (Rachel Reeves) had begun to give her Budget speech, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published their entire EFO online.
“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.”
(James Manning/PA Wire)Bryony Gooch1 December 2025 16:00Government will work closely with NCSC
Chief secretary to the treasury James Murray has said the government will work in conjunction with the National Cyber Security Center to take forward the recommendations laid out following a breach of the OBR.
“We will make sure that work is carried out urgently.
“We will look at wider questions of the systemic risk that this incident has uncovered, including the report's conclusion that the OBR information security arrangements should have been regularly re- examined and assured by the management of the OBR.
“This government is committed to the independence of the OBR and its role at the heart of economic and fiscal policy.”
Bryony Gooch1 December 2025 15:53Government 'taking OBR breach seriously'
Chief secretary to the treasury James Murray has said the government is taking the cyber breach that led Budget details to be leaked last week very seriously.
“As a government, we take this seriously to make sure the OBR never allows this to happen again.
“The report notes that common and fairly basic protections prevent early access, including passwords and random and URLs when not used.”
Bryony Gooch1 December 2025 15:50Chief secretary to treasury stands by Ms Reeves
Chief secretary to the treasury James Murray has stood by chancellor Rachel Reeves in his ministerial statement about the forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility.
He said Ms Reeves was “clear on her priorities at the budget, which was to cut NHS waiting lists, to cut the cost of living and to cut our debt and borrowing the budget that she delivered last week delivered on those priorities”.
Bryony Gooch1 December 2025 15:46Three former Tory MPs defect to Farage’s Reform
Three former Tory MPs defect to Farage’s Reform
One says he believes the Conservative Party has ‘lost touch with the people it was meant to serve’Bryony Gooch1 December 2025 15:44Government to make a statement on OBR forecasts now
The Government will make a statement to Parliament on forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray will make the ministerial statement to the House of Commons now. Stay tuned for more information.
Bryony Gooch1 December 2025 15:44Newer1 / 7OlderMore about
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