'Honourable' resignations... are they a thing of the past?

The resignation of Richard Hughes as chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) because of a catastrophic leak of data before the Budget is a rare example of a senior figure taking the hit for failings that were not their direct or, arguably, indirect responsibility.

- SEAN O'GRADY

It was an “honourable” and genuine resignation, in the sense that it was not a thinly disguised sacking. Hughes probably hasn't started a new trend.

Why did Hughes quit?

The “data-handling mistake” on the OBR website led to an almost unprecedented leak of the entire contents of the Budget (a previous leak in 1996 to the Daily Mirror did not lead to publication). This was seriously embarrassing for the OBR and the chancellor, a historic discourtesy to parliament, and the information was finance-sensitive, especially in the gilts market. Indeed, it's not clear whether any quasi-insider trading occurred without the knowledge of the authorities.

Hughes took responsibility for a terrible administrative error. He thus offered his resignation to the chancellor and, as a formality, wrote also to the chair of the Treasury select committee. He did so for the good of the OBR. He stated: “I also need to play my part in enabling the organisation that I have loved leading for the past five years to quickly move on from this regrettable incident. I have, therefore, decided it is in the best interest of the OBR for me to resign as its chair and take full responsibility.”

Did he have to go?