There were too many Budget leaks, says Rachel Reeves
Rachel Reeves has said there were too many inaccurate and “damaging” leaks in the run-up to the Budget.
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Questioned by MPs on the Treasury Committee, the Chancellor said she was frustrated by the “volume of speculation” around the Budget.
Last week, two senior members of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said they warned the Treasury that briefings and leaks before the Budget had “exacerbated” uncertainty and may have damaged growth.
A review of Treasury security processes – as well as a leak inquiry – is under way to inform future fiscal events, Rachel Reeves said.
The Chancellor told MPs: “I am grateful as well to have the opportunity to make a statement and to reiterate in the strongest terms that leaks are unacceptable.
“The Budget had too much speculation. There were too many leaks, and much of that, those leaks and speculation, were inaccurate, very damaging, as well as the IT security issues… The OBR’s report also noted that the spring statement had been accessed early as well.
“I want to say on the record how frustrated I am and have been by these incidents and the volume of speculation and leaks, and that is why I am doing something about it, because we cannot allow this to happen again.
“A leak inquiry is under way with my full support, being led by the permanent secretary at the Treasury, and we are also conducting a review of the Treasury security processes to inform future fiscal events.
“We also clearly need to look explicitly at physical IT security.
“The Treasury have asked the National Centre for Cyber Security to undertake a forensic examination of recent economic and financial outlooks.
“The outcome of that review, of course, will be public, and we’ll write to you with the outcomes of that review.”
She also said she and Sir Keir Starmer decided “together as a team” to freeze tax thresholds, which she again insisted did not amount to a breach of the manifesto promise not to hike taxes for working people.
Asked whether the Prime Minister made the decision not to raise income tax, the Chancellor said: “In the end, because of the decisions we made on high-value council tax on property and dividends and a number of other measures, we were able to keep the contribution from working people as low as we possibly could.
“The Prime Minister and I met two, three times a week during the Budget process. That is not always the case between chancellors and prime ministers. I recognise that. But there is a very close partnership between myself and the Prime Minister. And so we took him through all of the numbers and all of the options and we decided it together as a team, because that is what the Prime Minister and I am.”
She said extending for a further three years the national insurance and income tax thresholds was “not a breach of the manifesto, but it is asking everybody to contribute more”.