Britain’s Government Security Group (GSG) has launched an investigation into a potential leak of Budget measures, which may have moved financial markets.
It comes after a Bloomberg article published before the Autumn Budget on October 28 contained accurate details of planned changes to bank taxes.
The report, published on the morning of the Budget, said the planned increase in the bank corporation tax surcharge “won’t return it to the previous eight per cent level” and would therefore be less severe than the sector had expected.
The Treasury Committee said in a statement on Tuesday that a probe in the Cabinet Office is underway, despite assurance that no banks, their representatives or their trade bodies were briefed by the Treasury on the details of the Budget.
James Bowler, Permanent Secretary at the Treasury, said in a letter that in the period immediately preceding the Budget speech, there is a “necessary widening” of the circle of knowledge within government to prepare for its delivery.
However, Mr Bowler insisted that such access remains subject to “strict confidentiality requirements”, including not disclosing to the media or market participants.
Chair of the Treasury Committee, Dame Meg Hillier, raised concerns of a potential leak in a letter sent to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 3 November.
“I suspect that yet another inquiry into the leak of Budget measures will turn up no evidence of a breach but plenty of reassurance that next time it will be even more secure,” the Labour MP said.
“And so the cycle continues. We cannot continue to accept this doom-loop of dead-end investigations in which everybody in the Treasury throws their hands up in despair, but nobody is ever found to have done anything wrong.”
Dame Meg added that the Treasury still has questions to answer about how market-sensitive information, which was likely to affect the share price of banks, was circulating in newsrooms before it was given to Parliament.
John Healy, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is set to appear before the Treasury Committee on Wednesday. It is likely the potential leak will be covered in this session.
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