Labour MP urges City watchdog to probe insider trading fears after bank shares surged hours before Healey's Budget
John Healey's Budget scraps standing charges on gas bills and extends the VAT holiday on electricity to July, though the gas change will not take effect before 2027.John Healey's Budget hands HMRC sweeping new powers to deduct overdue tax directly from bank accounts without taxpayer agreement.
Dame Meg Hillier, the Labour chair of the Commons Treasury Select Committee, wrote to both the Financial Conduct Authority and Treasury permanent secretary James Bowler on Wednesday night demanding an urgent explanation for how sensitive Budget information reached the markets before Healey spoke. A Bloomberg report published at 10.45am — citing "people familiar with the matter" — correctly predicted that the bank surcharge increase would stop short of the worst expectations and be temporary, sparking a sharp rise in bank shares hours before the Chancellor confirmed it in the Commons.
Standard Chartered surged 5% and Lloyds and NatWest climbed more than 4% before Healey had said a word in Parliament.
Hillier told the FCA the Bloomberg report "appears to have been more than idle speculation" and had "implications for relevant securities".
Healey separately drew fire for 'selectively' briefing the Budget to consumer champion Martin Lewis before Cabinet had received its customary pre-Budget overview.
