Comment by londons_explore

> It is the worst failure in the 15-year history of the OBR

I'm not sure publishing some information 3 hours early was really their biggest failure in 15 years...

Especially when much of the info was already public because hundreds of civil servants involved in making these decisions told their family members who told the press...

afavour 2 days ago

It's still a failure in principle. The effects of this particular instance of the failure were minimal but it was still an accidental leak of (at the time) private information. They just got lucky.

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blibble 2 days ago

> The effects of this particular instance of the failure were minimal
the effects are not minimal
if you're crooked: getting this sort of information early is potentially extremely lucrative
(why crooked? because trading on UPSI is illegal)

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- mytailorisrich 2 days ago
  
  Surely it was no longer UPSI (Unpublished Price Sensitive Information) after the OBR published it?
  
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  blibble 2 days ago
  
  I wouldn't be betting my freedom on the regulator agreeing with that logic
  the regulations specifically go into great detail about official publications and formal circulation
  would a reasonable person consider this a leak? then it's UPSI
  
  Reply View | 5 replies
  
  kstrauser 2 days ago
  
  I agree. They didn’t intend to publish it, but they did publish it. They might not have advertised its presence yet, but it was freely available to anyone who asked.
  
  Reply View | 0 replies

almostkindatech 2 days ago

If by 'much of the info' you mean policy changes, those are deliberately leaked by the politicians, not civil servants or their family members. They do this to test reactions and frame the debate.

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