Autumn Budget 2025 live: OBR boss apologises and promises probe after ‘deeply disappointing’ technical error saw Budget leaked early

London’s Labour Mayror Sadiq Khan has praised the Chancellor’s Budget and said it will ‘improve the lives of the most vulnerable Londoners’ – but said he would need to ‘examine carefully’ the details to see how it will impact Londoners.

Taking to social media, Mr Khan said:

‘This Budget has delivered some key changes that will improve the lives of the most vulnerable Londoners. It’s the right decision to scrap the two-child benefit cap and I support the measures that will help Londoners struggling with the cost of living.

‘I’m pleased that we have managed to secure some important wins for London. This includes the commitment to extend the Docklands Light Railway to Thamesmead and new powers to London to raise a tourist levy.

‘We will need to examine carefully the details in the Budget and discuss with the Treasury the full impact on our capital city.

‘As Mayor, I’ll always stand up for London, irrespective of which party is in Government, as we continue to build a fairer, safer and more affordable London for everyone.’

This is the astonishing moment Rachel Reeves realised the Budget had been leaked early after her Labour colleague Torsten Bell handed her his phone in Parliament.

The Chancellor is thought to have been unaware of the mistake by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) mistake until she found out the bad news from Mr Bell.

Video footage broadcast live at 12.11pm showed Ms Reeves anxiously looking at the phone while Sir Keir Starmer was speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions.

Ms Reeves was then seen writing something down while looking at Treasury minister James Murray’s phone as Sir Keir continued to address the House of Commons.

Moments later the Chancellor and Mr Bell were spotted exchanging notes, with the Parliamentary Secretary for the Treasury telling Ms Reeves: ‘It’s fine, it’s fine.’

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Richard Hughes, head of the OBR, said he would abide by the recommendations of the investigation into how the body’s analysis of today’s Budget was released early, including by resigning if necessary.

He declined to say whether he had already offered his resignation when asked at a press conference this afternoon, but said he ‘serves at the confidence of the Chancellor’.

Mr Hughes added the OBR ‘understands how’ the error occurred, but did not give further details.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey has criticised the ‘botched Budget’ in his response to the financial event in the Commons this afternoon.

Taking to social media, he said: ‘This was a botched Budget by a Chancellor who’s diagnosed the disease but won’t administer the cure.

‘Despite promises to cut the cost of living and grow the economy, the Government still refuses to fix our trade relationship with Europe and repair the £90bn Brexit black hole.’

Government borrowing costs have eased back and the pound strengthened after an initial sell-off sparked by the early release of Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts.

UK government bonds, are also known as gilts, had come under pressure when the independent fiscal watchdog’s forecasts and Budget measures were released early, but later steadied as markets were relieved at the public finances outlook.

Having initially jumped higher, yields on 30-year UK government bonds later rallied to stand seven basis points lower at 5.25 percent, while yields on 10-year bonds were four basis points down at 4.46 percent.

Among the measures set out in the Budget a while ago was that fuel duty is to be increased from next summer.

The Treasury said the 5p per litre cut in duty introduced by the Conservative government in March 2022 would only be extended until the end of August 2026.

Rates will then gradually return to March 2022 levels by March 2027.

The planned inflation-linked increase in fuel duty has been cancelled for the 2026/27 financial year, but is scheduled to return immediately afterwards.

Fuel duty has not risen since April 2010.

Rachel Reeves does not think the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) should resign after a blunder saw the watchdog’s analysis of the Budget released early.

‘The Chancellor has confidence in Richard Hughes,’ a spokesman for the Chancellor said.

Members of the OBR began by issuing an apology for accidentally publishing details of the Chancellor’s Budget before she gave her much-anticipated speech at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Richard Hughes, the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, reiterated comments he made earlier to Sky News in which he said he will take action to ensure the premature publication of its Budget forecasts ‘doesn’t happen again’.

He added: ‘A document was uploaded with our forecast in it on our website this morning, too early. We’ve launched an investigation into that and will report to the Treasury committee in Parliament and to the Chancellor. We apologise for the error. I will take action to make sure it doesn’t happen again.’

He did not respond when asked if it was an issue to resign over.

The OBR is currently holding a press conference after its blunder which saw key elements of the Budget published early.

All the latest here as we get it.

The Chancellor’s decision to raise alcohol duty in line with inflation has been called a ‘sad day’ for the nation’s distillers, pubs and wider hospitality sector.

Industry leaders had urged the Government to freeze duty in this year’s Budget, arguing members were still reeling from the tax hikes introduced in February, and the additional burden of the new glass tax.

Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) said: ‘This Budget has been dubbed a death by a thousand cuts, and for wine and spirit businesses those cuts run deep.

‘Our members are still reeling from the tax hikes introduced in February, and the additional burden of the costly new glass tax, known as EPR. Coupled with rises in National Insurance, increases to the minimum wage and business rates, it is no surprise that wine and spirit producers – along with our beleaguered hospitality sector – feel under sustained attack.

‘The Government’s typically disappointing and shortsighted decision to raise alcohol duty yet again will only prolong the doom loop. Despite the OBR at last acknowledging higher prices lead to a decline in receipts, the Government fails to recognise that its own policy is driving up those prices.

‘Amazingly, the Treasury continues to press ahead with its ill-founded plan to pile further duty increases on alcohol.

‘Prices will rise once more for consumers, British businesses will suffer, and Treasury receipts will continue to fall – forecast to be £600 million lower than last year and £1 billion lower than was forecast in March.’

Britain faces five years of stagnating living standards as inflation and higher taxes bite, Budget forecasts reveal.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) downgraded its forecast for real household disposable income – saying it would grow by just a quarter of a per cent a year.

It came as the OBR also cut the UK growth outlook for every year from 2026 and revealed that cumulative borrowing will be nearly £70billion higher than previously thought.

The sluggish outlook for living standards was worse than expected at the time of the Chancellor’s spring statement in March – despite Labour’s claim to be tackling the cost of living.

That is because inflation will be higher than previously feared as well as thanks to the £26billion tax raid announced by Rachel Reeves.

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