House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has condemned Chancellor Rachel Reeves for speaking to reporters in the US about her upcoming Budget.
Parliamentary rules state that major government announcements should be made to members of the House of Commons before reporters.
A furious Sir Lindsay said failing to do so would be “a huge disrespect to the House” and that he was “very, very disappointed” with Reeves.
Responding to criticism, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said it was “entirely routine for the government to make announcements ahead of the budget and spending review”.
He added that parliament would have “all necessary time to clearly review the measures”.
Reeves will deliver her first budget in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
On Friday, she outlined plans to “change the way we measure debt” at a conference. International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Washington.
She explained she planned a technical change to ease self-imposed borrowing restrictions, freeing up billions of pounds of extra money for infrastructure spending on projects such as roads, rail and hospitals.
The government has committed to reducing debt as a share of the economy during this Congress, rather than over a rolling five-year period.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Sir Lindsay said the policy changes “can hardly be described as leaks” when she was interviewed on the record, including to the bbc.
“Ministers should expect to face appropriate and ongoing scrutiny when these messages are released to elected members of the House of Representatives rather than to US news channels,” he said.
He added that this was because Reeves’ comments were a major new policy announcement with “significant and widespread implications for the government’s fiscal policy and public finances”.
The Speaker said this was “completely unacceptable” and asked why Reeves wanted MPs to wait “almost a week” just to hear her repeat her announcement in her budget statement.
He added that MPs may be wondering, “How are they going to get seats on Wednesday. Well, to be honest, as things stand, you don’t need to do that – we’ll all hear about it.”
Finance Minister Darren Jones made a statement to the House of Representatives on “fiscal rules” late on Monday, with the Speaker saying: “Perhaps it is no coincidence.”
Referring to previous breaches of parliamentary rules, Sir Lindsay noted that when in opposition Labor would complain about similar behavior by the previous Conservative government and demanded: “All parties act together and respect MPs.”
