Overview
- Testifying to the Treasury Committee, Rachel Reeves called pre-Budget leaks unacceptable and “very damaging,” describing a 13 November Financial Times story as partial and inaccurate and insisting it was not authorised.
- Treasury permanent secretary James Bowler said the National Cyber Security Centre is conducting a forensic review into how confidential forecasts were accessed and pledged to get to the bottom of the breaches.
- The Office for Budget Responsibility’s inadvertent early publication of Budget material led to chair Richard Hughes’s resignation, and a replacement is unlikely before the spring statement.
- Reeves said she and Prime Minister Keir Starmer jointly decided not to raise headline income tax rates, instead extending threshold freezes and pursuing other tax measures.
- Conservative MPs pushed a censure motion accusing Reeves of misleading the country after market-moving leaks, while the Financial Conduct Authority is awaiting the government inquiry’s findings before considering any action.