Excitable government briefing made for a fraught relationship

Had Richard Hughes not resigned as chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on Monday amid the indignation over the accidental publication of Rachel Reeves's budget, the Treasury might now be under pressure over the tsunami of leaks that preceded it.

- Heather Stewart

The OBR's David Miles told MPs yesterday that the leaks had been so widespread and misleading that the watchdog feared its reputation was at stake.

Reeves's allies have made no secret about the lack of rapport between her and Hughes - a blunt former IMF and Treasury official, whose past career involved advising the Zimbabwean government about hyperinflation.

Observers of the relationship between the Treasury and OBR point out that last year was the first time Labour has had to tangle with the watchdog since it was created by George Osborne. A former Tory adviser joked: "Osborne's trap laid in 2011 paid dividends."

Unable to respond to the "leakfest" publicly before the budget, the OBR chair and his colleagues had raised concerns privately with Treasury officials, Miles revealed.