Treasury mole?

Hearing Nick Robinson take a swipe at John Humphrys for suggesting that the PBR 45p rate leak was a government handout was entertaining early morning tonic. But proper Budget leaks are usually no laughing matter, and there's mystification at the Treasury at seeing their details out a day early.

This may have been a government operation. But surely - surely - it can't have been in their interest to have had the two main planks of Alistair Darling's PBR - the VAT cut and new top rate of tax - splashed over the Sunday and Monday papers. After all, it spoils the surprise and gives the opposition more chance to work out their response.

There have been rumours of a Tory Treasury mole before. For instance, there was speculation in the Sunday Times here that George Osborne was tipped off about the inheritance tax move before last year's pre-election budget report. Interestingly, Benedict Brogan as good as says it came from the Tories here. Is there a molehunt going on at HMT right now? Perhaps Sir Gus O'Donnell will ask the police to become involved?

Comments

[David (One of many)]

This would be the same Ben Brogan who worked as Labour's lackey by printing the gossip about them losing Glenrothes when all their internal polling said otherwise?

[Triffid]

Mole hunt ? How difficult is it to find Darling ?

Nick Robinson is so firmly entrenched with Nu-Labour that his comment that "the treasury was peeved" at the leak was laughable. Of course, it was sanctioned leak - it's all about spinning to journalists (who have swallowed this garbage hook, line and sinker.)

[Mike Wood]

The Government are the only ones to gain from the early leaks. It gave them the Sunday papers full of stories about the VAT cut and then today's front pages about the 45pc rate. Both stories were essentially Government press releases and set the terms in which the PBR is now being reported and discussed.

Even this evening, my regional newspaper has a full front page headlined "Labour's £20billion tax giveaway". The whole story would have had to have been written, filed and set before Darling stood up to speak.

Tomorrow's newspapers show some backlash but would that have been any less if the two headline measures had been a surprise? As it is, people are still talking about those two measures rather than the £118billion deficit forecast for next year or the the largest downward revision to growth forecasts on record.

The Treasury leaks are so regular, comprehensive and accurate that they can only have come from the very centre of the Treasury team.

[Bob]

Public life in Britain is so badly leaked that the only thing you are not able to learn about the day ahead from the morning news is an accurate weather forecast. The only difference between the news being reported at 8am and 6pm is 10 hours of ignoramous comment fatigue.