The decision to appoint the former head of the OBR apparatus to the position of body watchman was called «incestuous»

Jeremy Hunt has selected Tom Josephs to serve on the three-member Budget Responsibility Committee. Photo: 10 Downing Street/Simon Walker

The former Chief of Staff of the official budgetary oversight body has been appointed to oversee the body, in what Sir Jacob Rhys Mogg has criticized as 'quasi-incest'.

Jeremy Hunt has selected Tom Josephs, who also previously led fiscal policy at the Treasury, to join the three-member Fiscal Responsibility Committee (BRC), which chairs the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR), for a five-year term.

< p>On Tuesday, Mr. Josephs will stand trial for a formal hearing before a House of Commons Treasury Select Committee to scrutinize his appointment.

Committee members are expected to confirm Mr. Hunt's choice. But the appointment will spark controversy among figures on the right and the left, who have criticized the OBR for repeatedly making significant forecasting errors, even as ministers relied on its calculations to formulate decisions on taxes and spending.

Sir Jacob Rees Mogg, a former business minister, said: “Caligula would have admired this level of quasi-incestuous appointments. This is important because OBR is always wrong, so he should be judged by independent Olympians, not his own old men.”

Sir John Redwood, another former Cabinet minister, said: “Ministers will choose the people they want to appoint. Let's just hope they pick those who are dealing with this issue, because OBR has a serious problem with forecasting.»

A senior conservative added: «There is a clear argument for new blood, given OBR's track record, and that revolving doors do no good.”

Earlier this year, the Congress of Trade Unions said that «with a few exceptions, every OBR forecast for real GDP is worse than the previous one.»

Jeremy Hunt endorses Tom Josephs' world-class expertise.

Mr. Josephs is unlikely to lead the OBR reshuffle that his critics want.

He was OBR's first chief of staff between 2010 and 2013 before joining the International Monetary Fund as a senior economist. Between 2019 and 2022, he served as Director of the Treasury Finance Group before moving to the Department of Work and Pensions, where he is now Director of Private Retirement Policy.

Mr. Josephs was also one of four members of the group Last year, the recruitment panel nominated Swati Dhingra, an associate professor at the London School of Economics and an outspoken critic of Brexit, as a new member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England.

Responding to his nomination, Mr. Josephs said, “I am delighted that the Chancellor has nominated me for appointment to the OBR Fiscal Responsibility Committee. I was honored from 2010 to 2013 to be part of the staff team that worked with the first members of the BRC to create the OBR. I would be honored to return to the OBR as a member of the BRC if the Treasury Committee agrees to my appointment.”

Mr Hunt said: “The independent OBR plays a vital role in maintaining the credibility of the UK financial structure. Tom has world-class knowledge of UK public finance, as well as significant economic and financial analysis experience in a variety of roles at home and abroad.”

Earlier this year, David Miles, one of the current three members of the BRC said people shouldn't get «too obsessed» with OBR forecasts.

He told The Telegraph: «We're just doing what we've been asked to do. I really want people not to get too hung up on what is essentially just a central forecast. The general direction in which the economy can move is nothing more. And it's definitely not gospel.»