OBR's Early Release: Fiscal Forecasts Leak Before Parliamentary Budget Speech

The UK's Office for Budget Responsibility mistakenly published budget forecasts before Finance Minister Rachel Reeves could present them in parliament. This unprecedented error, which revealed key economic announcements prematurely, prompted an apology and led to an investigation to determine the cause of the mishap.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) apologized Wednesday following an unprecedented error that saw its budget forecasts published online ahead of Finance Minister Rachel Reeves' parliamentary address. The premature release, initially reported by Reuters, disclosed crucial tax and economic growth announcements over an hour before the official budget speech.

The OBR acknowledged a technical mishap that led to the early posting of its November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook on its website. Reeves condemned the release as deeply disappointing and a serious error, while opposition member Mel Stride called it utterly outrageous. "A link to our economic outlook document went live too early. It has since been removed," the OBR stated on X.

The premature disclosure of the document, typically reserved for post-speech publication, caused immediate market responses, with the pound briefly peaking and UK government bond prices experiencing a temporary rise. The OBR has launched an inquiry into the incident and pledged to report its findings to the Treasury and the corresponding parliamentary committee.

(With inputs from agencies.)