Sir Keir Starmer Denies Involvement in Budget Leaks and Leadership Speculation
Sir Keir Starmer has denied any involvement in the recent budget leaks and leadership speculation, asserting that the information did not originate from him. He has promised to investigate the briefings to get to the bottom of the issue.
During a discussion with Parliament's liaison committee, it was revealed that the Financial Times had published a leak 13 days prior to the budget announcement, claiming that a proposal to raise income tax had been dropped. Starmer called this leak unacceptable and stated it was not authorized by him, his ministers, or officials.
Starmer emphasized that none of the leaks come from him or are encouraged by him and described briefing against cabinet ministers as unacceptable. He has instructed his staff and the cabinet accordingly. Procedures have been introduced within his team to prevent leaks, and he has no reason to believe anyone in Number 10 leaked the plan to halt the income tax increase.
Additional leaked budget details reportedly included a pay-per-mile levy on electric vehicles and a tourist tax. Starmer said he would wait for the conclusion of an official inquiry and would take appropriate action to stop further leaks.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the Treasury select committee that such leaks are very damaging. A review of Treasury processes is underway and the National Centre for Cyber Security is conducting a forensic examination of IT systems after the Office for Budget Responsibility's budget assessment was accessed prematurely.
