I will get to the bottom of these leaks, says Starmer

"The prime minister has said he will "get to the bottom" of where damaging leaks about the Budget and against his Cabinet are coming from. Last week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves told MPs that pre-Budget leaks suggesting she had abandoned plans to increase income tax rates were "unauthorised" and there was an inquiry under way. Sir Keir Starmer told the Liaison Committee, a parliamentary committee made up of every select committee chair, that he did not believe the leaks were coming from inside his own office."

"Dame Meg asked if he would "go as far as removing an individual" if they were found to be responsible, and the prime minister said he had previously done so and would be willing to "take appropriate action" at the end of the investigation. "I'll get to the bottom of these leaks," he said. "They are, in any organisations - they're intolerable. "I took the same action when I was head of the Crown Prosecution Service."

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to uncover the source of damaging pre-Budget and Cabinet leaks and stated he has no reason to believe they originated from No 10. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said unauthorised pre-Budget leaks suggested she had abandoned plans to increase income tax rates and confirmed an inquiry is under way. MPs pressed the prime minister on standards in public life and ministerial accountability amid recent embarrassing episodes, including briefings about a plot involving the Health Secretary, media stories about a possible Budget U-turn, and the premature publication of the OBR response. The prime minister called the leaks intolerable and said he would take appropriate action where necessary.

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