Richard Hughes, head of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), has resigned.
Hughes resigned last Wednesday after delivering the autumn budget ahead of schedule.
In a letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Hughes said the leak of the budget was a “technical but serious error”.
Hughes continued: “By implementing the recommendations in this report, I am confident that the OBR can quickly recover and regain the confidence and respect it has earned through 15 years of rigorous, independent economic analysis.”
However, he said: “I also need to play my part in enabling the organization I have loved leading over the past five years to move quickly beyond this regrettable episode.”
“It is therefore in the best interests of the OBR that I have decided to resign as chair of the OBR and take full responsibility for the shortcomings identified in the report.”
Earlier today, the OBR described its early autumn budget as “the most serious failure in the OBR’s 15-year history”.
On Budget day, people can view the OBR report 38 minutes before the Chancellor’s Budget Speech.
Today the OBR published the results of an investigation into the way its report was released early.
The investigation confirmed “there was no hostile cyber activity or any malfeasance within OBR”.
The OBR said the early release was a “failure to protect information prior to publication” and therefore “caused serious damage to the OBR’s reputation”.
“There is a clear and obvious explanation for what happened, which was a combination of two technical errors in configuring tools and digital infrastructure that required the pre-release document to be kept secret until its scheduled release,” the investigation details explain.
Going forward, reforming the way the biannual EFO is released is an “urgent task”, the report said.
It states: “Like many smaller organisations, OBR is under-resourced to undertake this task and we note that using a one-man supplier to assist in this situation is a critical personnel risk.”
“We therefore feel strongly that new arrangements should be put in place for the release of these key market and time-sensitive documents.”
