Budget was available online HOURS before humiliating leak was discovered ahead of Rachel Reeves’s announcement

Wednesday’s budget could have been found online hours before Rachel Reeves announced her new financial measures.

Just under an hour before Ms Reeves stood in Parliment, the Office for Budget Responsibility’s economic and fiscal risks report was discovered on their website - effectively leaking her entire announcement.

However, investigations into the major blunder have revealed that the report could have been found much earlier.

The document was put online before the Chancellor’s address on the fatally mistaken assumption that no one would guess the link to the document.

While not shared on the OBR’s website, the information could have been found with simple deduction.

One would only need to substitute “March” for “November” in the URL of Mrs Reeve’s Spring statement.

Metadata for the original file revealed that the document was created on Monday at 10.21 pm and last modified at 3.10 am on November 25, per The Times.

“This is deeply disappointing and a serious error on its part. It has already made a statement taking full responsibility for its breach,” the Chancellor said of the leak while speaking before the Commons.

Labour refuses to reveal true cost of 'dystopian' digital IDs as OBR scheme to cost £1.8billion 

Labour has refused to reveal the true cost of its “dystopian” digital IDs scheme after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) revealed yesterday it could cost almost £2billion.

In its report yesterday, the OBR said: “The implementation of digital ID cards is provisionally forecast to cost £1.8billion in total over the next three years, split across £0.5billion (day-to-day spending) and £1.3billion (capital spending).”

However, when asked to confirm these figures, a spokesman for the PM said: “The number in the OBR forecast was an initial early estimate spread over a number of years.

“We don’t recognise it as an accurate cost of the programme, the scope of which is yet to be decided, let alone costed.

“Any costs in this spending review period will be met within existing settlements.

“The Government will run a full consultation in due course.”

Veteran Conservative MP David Davis branded the scheme “utter madness” and said “it will do nothing to stop illegal immigration or illegal working”.

Mr Davis said: “Labour plan to press ahead with a dystopian and dangerous digital ID scheme.

“And now, after the Budget we know it’s going to cost £1.8billion and they’re still making the ridiculous claim that it’s going to stop the boats. It’s mad.”

Keir Starmer issues a new sub to Angela Rayner with U-turn on her flagship worker rights package

Keir Starmer has dealt another snub to his former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner as the Government is set to further water down her flagship worker rights package.

The Employment Rights Bill, spearheaded by Ms Rayner during her time in the Cabinet, will see zero-hours contracts abolished and extend sick pay rights.

However, Labour are now set to drop the right to sue for unfair dismissal on their first day in a job from the package, per The Sun.

The move follows increasing pressure from business leaders over excessive red tape that they warn will stifle growth.

Earlier this week, Business Secretary Peter Kyle suggested the package could be watered down in response to the backlash.

Budget watchdog boss 'ready to resign' after unprecedented Rachel Reeves crisis

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) chairman has said he will resign if Rachel Reeves loses confidence in him following the watchdog's early release of the Chancellor's plans.

The OBR's fiscal outlook, revealing the contents of Ms Reeves’s Budget, was accidentally published shortly before midday yesterday, just half an hour before the Chancellor announced her new measures.

Chairman of the watchdog, Richard Hughes, has said he will leave his post if Ms Reeves and MPs have lost confidence in him following the blunder.

After the OBR declared an investigation would be launched, he said today: "A link to our EFO (Economic and Fiscal Outlook) document was inadvertently made accessible to the public prior to the conclusion of the Chancellor’s statement when it is usually published.

"It wasn’t published on our website, but there was a link that somebody managed to find, and that made it accessible, and then it was then disseminated.

"As soon as it was discovered, we took action to take it down."

"Personally, I serve day-to-day subject to the confidence of the Chancellor and the Treasury Committee," he added.

"If they both conclude, in light of that investigation, they no longer have confidence in me then, of course, I will resign, which is what you do when you’re the chair of something called the Office for Budget Responsibility."

The Chancellor has said she remains confident in Mr Hughes and the OBR despite the error.

"Richard Hughes wrote to me yesterday evening, apologising for their error. It was a serious error, a serious breach," she told Sky News.

"But I do have confidence in Richard and the OBR. They do important work,

"But what happened yesterday, it did let me down, and it shouldn’t have happened, and it must never happen again."

Labour 'too weak to get a grip' on migration - Chris Philp 

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said Labour is "too weak to get a grip" on migration.

Reacting to new migration figures published today, the Croydon South MP said: "Today’s figures blow apart every claim Labour have made about getting control.

"More asylum grants, more claims, more illegal immigrants in hotels and almost no removals of small boat migrants.

"This is an asylum system and illegal small boat immigration in freefall under a Labour government that is too weak to get a grip.

"Only the Conservative Party have done the hard work to develop a detailed and proper plan to restore control.

"We will leave ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights) and execute our BORDERS plan. Keir Starmer doesn’t have the backbone to do this and doesn’t have the plan to make it happen. Under new leadership, only the Conservatives will deliver stronger borders for this country."

No10 'does not recognise' OBR's projected £1.8billion cost of digital ID scheme 

Downing Street has said it "does not recognise" the Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) proposed £1.8billion cost to roll out the digital ID scheme.

In its report yesterday, the OBR stated: "The implementation of digital ID cards is provisionally forecast to cost £1.8billion in total over the next three years, split across £0.5billion RDEL (resource spending) and £1.3billion CDEL (capital spending).

"The Government has announced its intention to meet the costs of this through existing DEL (departmental expenditure) budgets, however no specific savings have yet been identified."

When asked to confirm the figures, the Prime Minister's spokesman said: "The number in the OBR forecast was an initial early estimate spread over a number of years.

"We don’t recognise it as an accurate cost of the programme, the scope of which is yet to be decided, let alone costed.

"Any costs in this spending review period will be met within existing settlements. The government will run a full consultation in due course."

Ed Davey accuses Nigel Farage of spending '£1m' on adverts to 'distract' from Nathan Gill scandal 

Sir Ed Davey has accused Nigel Farage of spending "£1million" to feature adverts in six national newspapers in order to "distract" from the Nathan Gill scandal.

Former leader of Reform UK in Wales, Gill, has been sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in jail over pro-Russian statements made in the European Parliament for cash.

He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to eight counts of bribery on dates between December 6, 2018, and July 18, 2019.

The court heard the former MEP had agreed to make pro-Russian statements in the European Parliament for cash using codewords such as “promised X-mas gifts” and “postcards”.

Sir Ed Davey wrote to X: "Nigel Farage has spent £1m taking out adverts in the papers to distract from the Nathan Gill Russian bribe scandal.

"We can't let him buy himself out of this. We need an investigation into Russian influence in our politics."

WATCH: Business Secretary Peter Kyle insists Budget 'went well' 

New migration figures 'example of Labour's warped priorities', says Zia Yusuf

Reform's head of policy, Zia Yusuf, said the number of people leaving the UK is "likely to increase further" following Labour's "disastrous budget".

He said: "There is no better example of Labour’s warped priorities than today’s migration figures.

"693,000 people left the UK in the year to June, mainly caused by the largest exodus of people since the 1920s. That number is likely to increase further following the disastrous budget yesterday.

“At the same time, the number of people housed in migrant hotels has grown a staggering 23 per cent since the election and there was a record number of asylum claims last year.

"Reform is the only party that wants to secure our borders, bring an end to mass immigration and deport those here illegally."

WATCH: PM tells GB News he is 'determined' to shut asylum hotels after new figures show numbers are on the rise 

Nigel Farage pledges Reform will 'work for the British people' in 'open letter to the nation' 

Nigel Farage has pledged his party will "work for the British people" in what he dubbed an "open letter to the nation".

In a video posted to his social media, the Reform UK leader said: "Dear reader, it is time to be honest with ourselves. The British economy is in desperate trouble.

"Despite what politicians pretend, you can see for yourself that nothing works anymore.

"We have nonexistent growth, higher energy prices than anybody else in the world, taxes at a post-war high, £100billion of annual debt repayment and uncontrolled immigration that is draining our nation.

"And that is just the record of 14 years of Conservative government. If things weren't bad enough, we have economic chaos and a tax-raising budget under Starmer and Reeves.

"These clueless politicians have never run a business, have no idea how the real world works," he continued.

"Thanks to them, I would not be surprised if a financial crisis causes an early general election.

"When that election comes, Reform UK will be ready. We will proudly be the party of alarm clock Britain, defending the hard-working taxpayers who keep this country running."

He concluded his address by saying: "My promise is that a reform government will work for the British people.

"Labour and the Conservatives broke Britain. Reform stands to fix Britain."

Robert Jenrick asks 'where is the Justice Secretary?' as he tables urgent question on jury trials in the Commons 

Shadow Justice Secretary has tabled an urgent question in the House of Commons over Labour's proposed plans to scrap jury trials in the majority of cases.

He questioned where Justice Secretary David Lammy was as he directed his question instead to Justice minister, Sarah Sackman.

Mr Jenrick told MPs: "This Government lurches from one outrage to another.

"Yesterday the Chancellor shredded her promises and dropped a £26million on working Britain. Meanwhile, we learned that the Justice Secretary is plotting to discard centuries of jury trials without so much as a by your leave.

"And where is the Justice Secretary to answer for this? Do we need to send out a search party to Savile Row in case he has gone suit shopping this morning?

"Or perhaps he couldn't face up to the embarrassment that he is now destroying the very principles he once championed."

Labour minister says 'bold action' required to tackle court backlog but 'no final decisions' currently made  

Justice minister Sarah Sackman said "no final decisions have been made" over proposed judicial reforms, which include axing jury trials except for serious offences such as manslaughter and murder.

Speaking in the Commons, she told MPs: "This government inherited an emergency in our criminal courts with record and rising case loads, leaving victims behind each and every one of those cases facing agonising delays, waiting to see justice done, while some defendants hope their accusers simply give up on justice.

"That is why the government asked Sir Brian Levenson, a pre-eminent jurist and one of our most experienced judges, to undertake an independent review, a once in a generation review of our criminal courts.

"We have been carefully considering his recommendations and agree that a crisis of this scale requires bold action to get the system moving and to deliver swifter justice for victims."

She added that "no final decisions have been made".

'Pace of migration has placed immense pressure on communities', says Shabana Mahmood 

Shabana Mahmood says the pace of migration has placed "immense pressure" on Britain's communities.

Reacting to the latest drop in net migration, the Home Secretary said: "Net migration is at its lowest level in half a decade and has fallen by more than two-thirds under this government.

"But we are going further because the pace and scale of migration has placed immense pressure on local communities.

“Last week, I announced reforms to our migration system to ensure that those who come here must contribute and put in more than they take out."

New net migration figures released for Labour's first 12 months in office as asylum hotel places soar 

New net migration and temporarily-housed asylum seeker figures have been released for Labour's first 12 months in office by the Office for National Statistics.

Long-term international net migration for the year ending June 2025 was 204,000.

The number of asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of September was 36,273, which is up 13 per cent on the figure in June, according to Home Office data.

Some 32,059 asylum seekers were housed in UK hotels at the end of June.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

WATCH: Shadow Chancellor says Reform UK has 'no plan' for Britain's economy 

Up to 95 per cent of crown court jury trials could be axed under Labour's plans 

Labour's proposed judicial reforms could see jury trials scrapped in around 95 per cent of crown court cases, new analysis suggests.

A leaked memo from Justice Secretary David Lammy exposed plans to axe jury trials in most cases, with the exception of rape, murder and manslaughter amid a mounting crown court backlog.

Under the proposed changes, a new court tier would be established where judges preside independently over serious criminal matters that currently require juries.

New analysis by the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), which represents lawyers in England and Wales, suggests around 95 per cent of cases could be impacted.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

WATCH: Lib Dems spokesperson says Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch 'living in La-La-land' over Budget reactions

Budget leak 'let me down' and 'must never happen again' - Rachel Reeves 

Rachel Reeves has said she retains confidence in the the OBR's chair despite the Budget leak, which she said "must never happen again".

“Richard Hughes wrote to me yesterday evening, apologising for their error. It was a serious error, a serious breach," the Chancellor told Sky News.

“They have announced an investigation which will report to me very quickly.

“But I do have confidence in Richard and the OBR. They do important work. But what happened yesterday, it did let me down, and it shouldn’t have happened, and it must never happen again.”

'External person' may have been responsible for early release of OBR analysis ahead of Budget, watchdog boss says

An "external person" may have been able to access the link to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) fiscal outlook which was published prematurely ahead of Wednesday’s Budget, the head of the watchdog has said.

OBR chair Richard Hughes said a "full report" will be sent to Parliament over the incident.

"Well, the documents weren’t published on our webpage itself," he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

"It appears there was a link that someone was able to access – an external person.

"We need to get to the bottom of what exactly happened. We’re going to do a full investigation."

WATCH IN FULL: Rachel Reeves says taxes have been kept at 'an absolute minimum on ordinary working people' 

Most of the 'pain' from Rachel Reeves' Budget will not be felt until just before next General Election, think tank chief warns 

The decade continues to look “really tough” for living standards as most of the "pain" from Rachel Reeves’ Budget will not be felt until 2028, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think tank has warned.

Ruth Curtice told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: "On kind of the fiscal repair job, she increased her head room by a lot, but she delayed the pain.

"So borrowing is actually up every year until 29-30. So interestingly, delaying the pain until just before an election."

"Those threshold freezes kick in in 2028," she added.

"Some of the other measures also not coming in – for example the mansion tax and the salary sacrifice – until 2028, so that’s when most of the pain from this Budget will be felt."

Farmers handed 'small but welcome' Budget lifeline

Farmers have been handed a "small but welcome" Budget lifeline through a tweak to property relief - which has been unusually backed by the Tories.

Nestled in the Budget is the news that the £1million agricultural and business property relief allowance will be transferable between spouses and civil partners.

Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake, who represents the largely rural Thirsk & Malton seat, said the move "will give a little bit of added security to those who invest, employ and keep our rural communities thriving".

"A sensible, small step back in the right direction," he added.

​GRAPHED: The UK's tax burden as a percentage of GDP, 1948-2031

'It's a benefits Budget!' 25,000 more families to claim handouts thanks to Rachel Reeves - paid for by YOU

Working Britons will be forced to fund 25,000 more families on benefits thanks to Rachel Reeves's Budget, the fiscal watchdog has admitted.

The Chancellor lifted the two-child benefit cap on Wednesday - with parents now able to claim Universal Credit and tax reductions for their third and any subsequent children.

The move was widely panned for buckling to the demands of the Labour left - several of whom were suspended from the party last summer after campaigning to do exactly what Ms Reeves did yesterday.

She said lifting it would bring 450,000 children out of poverty - at a cost to taxpayers of £3billion by 2030, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Around 560,000 families' payouts will soar by an average of £5,310 by that year, while many households will start to claim Universal Credit for the first time ever as a direct result of the Budget.

The total cost "includes £300million by 2029-30 for the cost of an estimated 25,000 additional entitled families making a claim as a result of the increase", the OBR said.

Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: "The OBR confirms it: this was a benefits Budget.

"Tens of thousands of additional families will now be claiming Universal Credit thanks to Labour making benefits more generous - the clearest sign yet that Labour has engineered a system where it pays more to claim benefits than to work.

"Rachel Reeves has chosen to put taxes up to pay for more and more welfare."

How much will Rachel Reeves's Budget cost YOU? - Use our free GB News calculator NOW

On Wednesday, Rachel Reeves unveiled her Budget after months of speculation and growing concern over the economy's trajectory.

Among the changes announced by the Treasury include the extension of the income tax threshold freeze, a reduction in the cash ISA tax-free allowance and other controversial policies.

While journalists, economists, analysts and politicians debate who the winners and losers of this Budget will be, GB News readers will be the among the first to know how they will be affected by the Chancellor's fiscal overhaul.

We have teamed up with Blick Rothenberg to share their free online Budget 2025 calculator. Simply fill out the relevant fields in the tool below, and find out whether you'll be better off or not every year.

CLICK THIS LINK TO USE THE GB NEWS CALCULATOR AND FIND OUT HOW YOU'RE AFFECTED

Zia Yusuf: 'Morally repugnant' to make Britons pay more tax to fund £2TRILLION 'runaway train'

Reform UK's policy chief Zia Yusuf has led his party's Thursday broadside against Rachel Reeves as the dust settles on her second Budget as Chancellor.

Mr Yusuf, writing in the Mail, has laid into crushing OBR forecasts which warn how British taxpayers will spend over £2trillion on welfare over the next six years.

Branding the country's benefits system a "runaway train", the Reform heavyweight said: "Taxpayers have suffered enough. People who set their alarm clocks and go to work are being asked to pay record amounts in tax, accept appalling public services and pay for a record number of people to not work. The tax burden is set to rise to a staggering 38 per cent of GDP by 2030 - a post-war high."

Then, turning his fire on tax-funded schemes abroad like aid programmes in Pakistan and roads in Guyana, he vowed that only a Reform Government would "end the doom loop".

If the Chancellor had listened to his plans, Mr Yusuf said, she could have saved £27billion - not raised taxes by £26billion.

Crowing Corbynistas declare victory after Rachel Reeves's 'Benefits Budget'

Leading Corbynista MPs declared victory yesterday after it was confirmed that Rachel Reeves would lift the two-child benefit cap - at working Britons' expense.

John McDonnell, Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Chancellor, hailed how Ms Reeves had buckled to the Labour left's demands after more than a year of pleading.

Labour suspended the whip from seven MPs - including Mr McDonnell - who backed a move to lift the cap last summer.

Then in September, more than 100 Labour MPs demanded the Chancellor scrap it.

Mr McDonnell said: "I want to pay tribute to all those who stood firm in the campaign to scrap this appalling policy, including all those of my colleagues who faced disciplinary action in the Labour Party but never wavered.

"We've won."