Taking Budget responsibility

OBR boss resigns over 'worst blunder' | PM says Reeves did not mislead public

- LIZZY BUCHAN

THE head of the Office for Budget Responsibility has quit over the shambolic leak on Budget Day, as Keir Starmer said Rachel Reeves did not mislead the public about the state of public finances.

Richard Hughes, chair of the OBR, said he would step down over the early release of a key document last Wednesday - a blunder branded the “worst failure” in the watchdog’s history.

A probe yesterday said the OBR's forecast was published online nearly an hour before the Chancellor began her statement to Parliament.

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 added: “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.”