Chancellor Rachel Reeves has described the accidental early release of the Office for Budget Responsibility report as “deeply disappointing” after the market-sensitive document appeared online ahead of her budget statement.
Opening her comments in the House of Commons, Reeves said the OBR had already taken “full responsibility” for the error. She highlighted the government’s progress over the past 16 months in “rebuilding the economy”, pointing to new trade deals and reforms to fiscal rules.
Although the OBR is independent, it works closely with the Treasury to produce forecasts to assess whether the government is on track to meet its self-imposed economic rules. The early release immediately sparked concern among business leaders and cybersecurity experts.
Kenny MacAulay, CEO of accounting software platform Acting Office, said the incident represented an “astonishing” breach of protocol.
“It is truly astonishing that such a market-sensitive document could find its way online through official channels in the run-up to the Chancellor’s speech,” he said. “Basic compliance requirements should be in place to prevent this. A full review is required to understand how and why such a serious breach occurred.”
Graeme Stewart, public sector director at cybersecurity firm Check Point, warned that the flaw exposed government vulnerabilities.
“Accidentally publishing a market-sensitive report online before the Chancellor has even made her statement represents a serious security breach that requires a full investigation,” he said. “Sloppy records management poses clear risks – leaks like this could be exploited by hackers or fraudsters to manipulate markets. There are no excuses and the government needs to rethink its entire disclosure strategy.”
The Treasury has not yet commented on whether a formal review will be launched, but senior officials are expected to be confronted with questions about how the error occurred.
