The Prime Minister has pledged to investigate the source of damaging leaks concerning the Budget and critical briefings against members of his Cabinet.
Last week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves informed Members of Parliament that “unauthorised” pre-Budget leaks suggested the abandonment of plans to increase income tax rates, adding that an inquiry was underway.
During a session with the Liaison Committee, a parliamentary body comprising all select committee chairs, Sir Keir Starmer asserted that he did not believe the leaks originated from within his own office.
MPs’ questions to the Prime Minister also centered on standards in public life, specifically addressing whether ministers were adequately submitting themselves to scrutiny through parliamentary questioning.
The government has recently faced a series of challenging incidents, including briefings regarding a purported plot to unseat the leadership by Health Secretary Wes Streeting in early November.
This was swiftly followed by media reports of a potential Budget reversal on income tax and the unprecedented premature release of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) response to Reeves’ Budget, before its formal announcement in the House of Commons.
When questioned about the leaks by Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the Liaison Committee, Sir Keir described them as “intolerable” and confirmed that an investigation into the Budget-related leaks was in progress.
“I’ve no reason to think there was a leak from No 10,” Sir Keir added.
In response to Dame Meg’s inquiry about whether he would “go as far as removing an individual” if found responsible, the Prime Minister stated that he had previously taken such action and would be prepared to “take appropriate action” upon the investigation’s conclusion.
“I’ll get to the bottom of these leaks,” he stated. “They are, in any organizations – they’re intolerable.
“I took the same action when I was head of the Crown Prosecution Service.
“There is a leak inquiry, it can go wherever the evidence will take it, and if it comes to a conclusion, I’ll act on it.”
The Prime Minister was compelled to defend his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, after some within the government attributed the anti-Streeting briefing to him, though BBC sources indicated that McSweeney was “not going anywhere.”
In addressing questions about the matter, Sir Keir reiterated that any briefing against Cabinet ministers was “completely unacceptable” and affirmed that he had implemented measures to address such conduct.
Conservative MP Alberto Costa echoed criticisms, suggesting that leaks originating from within Number 10 would convey the impression that the Prime Minister had “lost complete control of your Downing Street operation.”
When pressed by Costa regarding his belief that the leaks did not originate from within Number 10, the Prime Minister responded: “I had assurance from within Downing Street on different levels, different people in my team.”
When asked to clarify whether these assurances came from officials or special advisors, Sir Keir stated: “Special advisors – I’m not going to name members of staff but I will add this, I didn’t just take everything at face value.
“I looked at other bits of evidence to assure myself about what I was then saying publicly to the media.”
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