The head of Britain’s financial watchdog resigned on Monday after his agency last week inadvertently released the key details of finance minister Rachel Reeves’ annual tax-and-spending budget statement ahead of time.
Richard Hughes said he wanted to help the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to recover quickly from the lapse which an investigation linked to IT weaknesses and leadership failures.
“I have, therefore, decided it is in the best interest of the OBR for me to resign as its chair and take full responsibility to the shortcomings identified in the report,” he said in a letter to Reeves.
Hughes began his first five-year term as chair of the independent public body in 2020 before Reeves backed him for a second term in May. His departure follows a period of strained relations between Reeves and the OBR.
The agency said earlier on Monday that its inadvertent early publication of its assessment of Reeves’ budget last Wednesday was due to pre-existing IT failings that had not been spotted by the OBR’s leadership.
It said an investigation into the causes of the early release, first reported by Reuters, had found the weakness was likely to have predated the budget and said it would improve its systems to prevent a recurrence.