On 3 December, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a letter from its CEO, Nikhil Rathi, to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Meg Hillier MP, on the handling of information ahead of the Autumn Budget 2025.
The FCA explained that it had been asked by MPs to investigate the handling of information ahead of the Autumn Budget 2025 and whether it amounted to market abuse. In particular, the FCA set out that three main concerns or allegations have been raised with it as follows:
- That briefings by Ministers and Government officials were misleading and may have amounted to market manipulation.
- Inappropriate placing of market sensitive or inside information into the public domain through Government briefings or leaks.
- The early release of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
The FCA made clear that it considers that the core purpose of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) is to ensure a level playing field so that, to the greatest possible extent, all participants can have confidence in the integrity of markets. The FCA further set out that the purpose of MAR is not to make judgments on political discourse, even though that discourse may on occasion have an impact on markets and, further, that how the Government publicly communicates its position in advance of a fiscal event or similar is a matter for Parliament through its accountability mechanisms.
That said, the FCA did set out that it had requested details of the relevant leak enquiry and that the outcome is shared with the FCA so that it can consider as appropriate. In addition, the FCA also explained that the OBR has now published the outcome of its investigation into the early release of its Economic and Fiscal Outlook, which it is now considering.