OBR says inadvertent budget leak is worst failure' in its 15-year history

"Britain's budget watchdog has said the early leak of its budget documents before Rachel Reeves made her speech was the worst failure in its 15-year history as it emerged a similar breach had occurred earlier this year. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said an investigation had found that the leadership of the organisation, over many years, was to blame for the early release of its Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) document online nearly an hour before Reeves's address last Wednesday."

"The organisation also admitted that its previous report, published in March alongside the spring statement, had also been accessed prematurely five minutes into Reeves's speech after being uploaded online before it was supposed to be, at the end of the speech. We are in no doubt that this failure to protect information prior to publication has inflicted heavy damage on the OBR's reputation. It is the worst failure in the 15-year history of the OBR, they said."

"It said the Treasury and the Cabinet Office should also shoulder some of the responsibility for maintaining IT systems that lacked the level of security needed to prevent unregulated access by outside bodies. The EFO document set out all the key announcements on taxes, growth and individual policy changes, leading to mockery and anger among some MPs in parliament. The investigation found: Pressure on the small team involved to ensure that the full"

The OBR's Economic and Fiscal Outlook was uploaded online nearly an hour before the chancellor's speech, and a previous report was accessed prematurely during the spring statement in March. An investigation led by chief of staff Laura Gardiner and Ciaran Martin found long-standing leadership failures and likely pre-existing procedural weaknesses, recommending audits and system improvements. The Treasury and Cabinet Office were told to share responsibility for inadequate IT security, as the leaked EFO contained detailed tax, growth and policy announcements that provoked mockery and anger among some MPs; pressure on a small team prompted use of a pre-publication facility that created a vulnerability.

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