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The Financial Times leads with the news of the Office for Budget Responsibility chair’s resignation after its early Budget leak. Richard Hughes’s departure follows a review that found “the same failures had allowed early access to the Spring Statement” and left concerns that “other Budgets could also have been compromised”.
For The Daily Telegraph, it is “Reeves clings on as OBR chief silenced”. Richard Hughes will not now appear in front of a Treasury committee after his resignation, “sparing Ms Reeves further criticism when she is already under pressure to resign”. In further Budget news, council houses worth more than £2m will not face the new property tax introduced by the Chancellor, it reports.
The i Paper also runs the exit of the OBR chair in its top slot, though says he was “forced out after contradicting Chancellor”. Relations between the financial watchdog and the Treasury were at an “all-time low” after Richard Hughes chose to publish a timeline it says challenged Reeves’s claims about “difficulties she faced balancing the books”.
The headline in the Times says the the OBR chair stepping down came after he was “publicly rebuked” by the prime minister. A review of the Budget’s early release found it was the “worst failure” in the office’s history. Singer Kylie Minogue is splashed across the front wearing Jonathan Anderson to the Fashion Awards, where the designer won the top award.
The Guardian says Richard Hughes took “full responsibility” for the Budget leak as he exited the OBR, while Sir Keir Starmer “notably failed to express confidence in the senior economist”. Labour MP Tulip Siddiq is also pictured on the front page after being been sentenced to two years of jail in Bangladesh after being put on trial in her absence over corruption allegations. She said the process had been “flawed and farcical from the beginning to the end”.
The Daily Mail calls Ex-OBR chair Richard Hughes “the fall guy for Reeves’ Budget lies”, saying the government has “no shame”. It writes that Hughes “exposed the truth about her financial ‘black hole’,” referring to the funding gap she had indicated she needed to fill.
The Independent also leads on the “Budget black hole” but with a denial from Sir Keir Starmer that “we didn’t mislead anyone” over it. Now, the “Labour briefings row” – over what Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir discussed with ministers about the improved OBR forecast – “deepens”, says the Indy.
The Daily Express focuses on a speech the prime minister gave on Monday where he referenced the impact of Brexit on the UK economy. Sir Keir Starmer made “vows to appease Brussels as he scrambled to defend his under-fire Chancellor” it says.
The Daily Mirror calls for “justice for the lost victims” of the Post Office Horizon scandal. Police could now bring corporate manslaughter charges in cases where staff took their own lives after being accused of theft due to a faulty IT system, the Mirror reports.
The Sun says a former England and Premier League football player has been arrested over an allegation of attempted rape. The paper says the man, who it reports played for England in the 2010s, has been bailed pending further inquiries after being arrested at Stansted airport following an allegation from an ex-partner.
“Striker clashes with right winger” writes Metro over a row on X between former England player Gary Lineker and far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Robinson had shared a photo of Lineker with his daughter-in-law.
There are “tears for cheers” for “humble hero” Kevin Sinfield, writes the Daily Star. The former Rugby league player – currently on an ultramarathon challenge – has raised more than £10m for motor neurone disease, the paper says.
Sources tell the i Paper that Richard Hughes could have survived the OBR’s accidental leak, but his relationship with the Treasury had “tanked” after he “undermined” Rachel Reeves’ position on the state of the public finances. According to the Times, the pair were “barely on speaking terms” in the lead up to his resignation, a period described by the Financial Times as “a moment of high tension”.
One government insider tells the Mail that she is “radioactive” and “contaminating everyone around her”. The prime minister has “lashed himself” to the chancellor’s “lies”, one minister is quoted as saying. “There’s no way out of this for either of them”.
As Sir Keir Starmer defended his chancellor in a speech, the Daily Express claims he “sparked fury” by “vowing to appease Brussels”. It highlights the prime minister’s comments that the UK should build a closer relationship with the EU, with the paper saying that he “blamed Brexit for the disastrous economy under Labour”. The Daily Mirror quotes him as criticising “wild promises” which were made to people, and not fulfilled.
The Justice Secretary David Lammy sets out his case in the Daily Telegraph for proposed changes to jury trials due to be outlined later. He cites the Magna Carta, writing that “if its authors saw the delays in our courts today, they would not urge us to cling rigidly to tradition”. But the Times reports that he has dropped the more “radical” part of his plan, to scrap jury trials in all cases except murder, rape and manslaughter.
