UK Office for Budget Responsibility chair resigns over budget leak

The chair of the UK Office for Budget Responsibility has resigned over the early publication of the watchdog’s forecasts.

Richard Hughes said he was resigning to allow the OBR to ‘quickly move on from this regrettable incident’.

His resignation follows publication of a report that described the leak as ‘the worst failure in the 15-year history of the OBR’ and strongly criticised the watchdog’s processes for protecting sensitive information.

In a letter to the chancellor and the chair of the Commons Treasury Committee, Hughes said he took ‘full responsibility’ for ‘the shortcomings identified in the report’.

He said: ‘By implementing the recommendations in this report, I am certain the OBR can quickly regain and restore the confidence and esteem that it has earned through 15 years of rigorous, independent economic analysis.’

Hughes has served as chairman of the OBR since 2020 and was reappointed to the job for a second five-year term in July this year.

By Christopher McKeon and Helen Corbett, Press Association

source: PA

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