OBR chief in firing line for Budget leak: Reeves will not rule out sacking boss of watchdog that exposed Labour spin

Rachel Reeves today insisted she is the financial watchdog’s biggest fan – but she could still sack her beleaguered boss.

Before delivering his speech on Wednesday, the Chancellor confirmed he would receive a report tomorrow into the ‘serious’ error that led the Office for Budget Responsibility to publish its landmark decision on the Budget.

He called Ciaran Martin, the former head of the National Cyber ​​Security Centre, to find out how the document came online prematurely, sparking outrage in the government.

Another headache for Ms Reeves was that the watchdog was skeptical of claims the Chancellor abandoned plans to raise income tax in the Budget because of more positive forecasts, saying he knew about it long before he changed his mind.

OBR chairman Richard Hughes took what he considered the “unusual step” of explaining to the Treasury select committee how its forecasts had evolved “given the circumstances”.

But when asked whether Mr Hughes should go, Ms Reeves said: ‘There is no one greater supporter of the Office for Budget Responsibility than me. I reappointed Richard Hughes in the summer to strengthen the OBR’s powers. We will get a report tomorrow.

‘The report examining what’s going on with the budget. It was clearly a serious breach of protocol but I’ll see that report tomorrow.’

Earlier in the same Sky News interview, Ms Reeves argued that the OBR had lowered its forecasts for the UK’s productivity level as it approached the critical budget.

Asked whether Mr Hughes should go, Ms Reeves described his actions as a ‘serious breach of protocol’ but added that it was she who reappointed him in the summer to strengthen the OBR’s powers.

He said the watchdog’s recalculation was the biggest change to the public finances in recent months and reflected how the Conservatives were managing the economy rather than his own.

Ms Reeves, who has previously been said to have vowed not to return with another tax-increasing budget, said: ‘This year’s budget was not on the scale of last year. But as I said in my speech at the beginning of November, the context of this Budget has changed and I have had to ask people to contribute more.

‘And the biggest thing that happened between the spring forecast and the forecast the OBR provided for this Budget was a huge drop in productivity.’ He added: ‘The OBR was really clear; This reflects the legacy of the previous 14 years, not anything the government has done in the last 16 months.

‘But still the decline in productivity means they estimate tax revenues will be £16bn lower.’

The Chancellor, who was told that the difference between the two budgets was not that big, said that this was due to reasons ‘out of my control’. He added: ‘It is up to them to justify the timing of the productivity review.’

And when he explained that he had previously insisted that everything that happened after last year’s Budget was his choice, he replied: ‘Look at the Office for Budget Responsibility, you’re not interviewing them, you’re interviewing me.’

Mr Hughes will appear before MPs on the Treasury committee on Tuesday, who published evidence showing the OBR told the Chancellor there was no black hole financing; Meanwhile, he was talking about the problems in balancing the accounts. Mr Hughes has already said he will step down if Ms Reeves and the committee lose confidence in him.

He said at a post-budget event: ‘I serve in the confidence of the Chancellor and the Treasury committee. If… they come to the conclusion that they no longer trust me, then of course I will resign; That’s what you do when you’re the head of something called the Office for Budget Responsibility.’