Ed Balls document leak

The Ed Balls document leak was a political controversy in the United Kingdom that arose on 9 June 2011. It was based on a database of 55 private documents leaked by The Daily Telegraph^[1] that purported to show that Ed Balls played a central role in a plot, launched two months after the 2005 general election dubbed "Project Volvo",^[2] to oust Tony Blair as prime minister and replace him with Gordon Brown. The files included private letters between Blair and Brown, and also purported to show that the government went ahead with plans to increase public spending, despite receiving advice to the contrary.^[3]

The day following the revelations Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell sanctioned an investigation into the leaking of the papers, after receiving a complaint from Balls, who maintained that the documents referred only to attempts made by him and agreed with by Blair and Brown, "to ensure a 'stable and orderly transition'"^[4] between the two Labour politicians.