Rachel Reeves

UK Budget leak inquiry efforts gained momentum on Wednesday as Chancellor Rachel Reeves threw her weight behind a formal investigation into a series of unauthorised disclosures that unsettled businesses, alarmed consumers, and moved financial markets in the run up to the November 26 Budget.

The chief secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, told Parliament that the inquiry is already under way and is being led by James Bowler, the Treasury’s most senior civil servant. Murray said the probe had the “full support of the chancellor” and the entire Treasury team.

The leaks ranged from plans to freeze income tax thresholds …