OBR chair quits after inquiry into early release of budget document

Damning report calls leak the worst failure in the watchdog's history

- Pippa Crerar, Peter Walker, Kiran Stacey

Richard Hughes said he took 'full responsibility' for the OBR's error

The chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility has resigned after an internal inquiry into the leak that threw Rachel Reeves's budget into chaos described it as the “worst failure” in the institution’s history.

The departure of Richard Hughes, who said he took “full responsibility” for the watchdog’s failure to handle sensitive information, dragged the rolling recriminations over the budget into a fifth day.

Keir Starmer had notably failed to express confidence in the senior economist, while criticising the OBR for the “serious error”, which he said was a breach of market sensitive information and also a “massive discourtesy” to parliament.

While ministers hope the resignation will draw a line under tensions with the OBR, the chancellor remains under pressure, with critics seeking to draw a contrast between Hughes’s decision to quit and Reeves’s defiance over her handling of the budget.

Opposition leaders have accused the chancellor of misleading the public by claiming there was a hole in the public finances to justify tax rises, a charge that the government has denied.

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said: “Someone has resigned as a result of the budget chaos... but it isn’t Rachel Reeves. The chancellor is trying to use the chair of the OBR as her human shield. But I will not let her.”

Pete Wishart, the Scottish National party’s deputy leader at Westminster, said: “The head of the OBR has taken responsibility, and resigned, to restore confidence after the budget leak. The head of the BBC took responsibility and resigned. Why is Rachel Reeves refusing to do the same?”

Government insiders, however, rejected the attempt to link the OBR leak with the chancellor’s decisions over the budget.