UK's Reeves says previous government hid spending data from OBR
Refiles to add dropped word 'Budget' in 'Office for Budget Responsibility' in paragraph 1
LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) -British finance minister Rachel Reeves on Wednesday said the previous Conservative government had hid vital information on public spending plans from the Office for BudgetResponsibility, citing a new report from the independent forecasting body.
Reeves quoted the OBR's report as saying its forecasts in the March 2024 budget published by the previous government would have been "materially different" if it had been given a fuller picture of the government's spending.
"Let me be clear: that means any comparison between today's forecast and the OBR's March forecast is false," Reeves said in her budget speech.
Conservative Party finance spokesman Jeremy Hunt, who was finance minister in the last government, has said Reeves had politicised the OBR by commissioning the report and would harm the body's impartial image.
Reporting by UK bureau, writing by Andy Bruce; Editing by Kate Holton
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