Keir Starmer‘s claim that he did not know Rachel Reeves was in tears was branded ‘nonsense’ last night after the Tories insisted they gave Labour ‘early warning’ of her distress.
Tory MPs revealed they alerted Labour whips to the fact that the Chancellor was weeping in the Commons to ensure she got help.
They say that was at 11.43am – 17 minutes before Prime Minister’s Questions when Ms Reeves had tears rolling down her cheeks as she sat next to an apparently oblivious Sir Keir.
One Tory MP said: ‘It simply beggars belief that with that much warning, the PM wasn’t told.
‘Nearly 20 minutes before PMQs began, we could see Reeves was already tearful sitting on the front bench and we alerted Labour whips to the problem.
‘It’s nonsense to say Starmer wouldn’t have been aware.’
Last night Downing Street was still insisting Sir Keir spent the entire half-hour session of questions unaware of her trauma.
But amid continued confusion, party sources claimed last night that Labour whips were so worried at Ms Reeves’ state of mind, they tried to stop her appearing alongside Sir Keir.
Tory MPs revealed they alerted Labour whips to the fact that the Chancellor was weeping in the Commons to ensure she got help
The Treasury insisted her distress was caused by a personal matter, while Ms Reeves sought to bounce back next day with an unexpected appearance at the launch of the Government’s ten-year health plan
They said whips pleaded with Ms Reeves – who had briefly come out of the Chamber – not to go back inside.
But sources close to the Chancellor said there was ‘no truth’ in that claim.
Ms Reeves said yesterday she regretted going into PMQs in tears ‘after a tough day in the office’.
She told The Guardian: ‘It was a personal matter but it was in the glare of the camera.
‘And that’s unfortunate, but I think people have seen that I’m back in business and back out there.’
The events – which sparked turmoil on financial markets – began after Ms Reeves was rebuked by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle as she entered the Commons over taking too long to answer Treasury questions the previous day.
She was overheard replying that she was ‘under so much pressure’ before briefly taking her seat but then leaving afterwards in what appeared to be distress.
To the surprise of some Labour MPs, Ms Reeves then reappeared to take her place at Sir Keir’s side when he arrived for PMQs.
MPs were surprised that Sir Keir was seemingly oblivious to how upset she was, even after Tory leader Kemi Badenoch pointed out how ‘absolutely miserable’ she looked
Later on Wednesday, Sir Keir told the BBC that Ms Reeves would be Chancellor ‘for a very long time to come’
But to the horror of colleagues, the self-styled Iron Chancellor then wept beside the PM.
MPs were surprised that Sir Keir was seemingly oblivious to how upset she was, even after Tory leader Kemi Badenoch pointed out how ‘absolutely miserable’ she looked.
Sir Keir also forgot to guarantee that his Chancellor’s position was safe after her role in last week’s humiliating U-turn on saving almost £5 billion from controversial welfare cutbacks.
The Government was forced to deny reports that Sir Keir and his deputy Angela Rayner had rows with Ms Reeves over the benefits fiasco which had upset her.
The Treasury insisted her distress was caused by a personal matter, while Ms Reeves sought to bounce back next day with an unexpected appearance at the launch of the Government’s ten-year health plan.
But questions have remained over how Sir Keir could not have been aware of her state of mind – especially as his parliamentary aide Chris Ward tapped her on the shoulder to check she was OK.
Later on Wednesday, Sir Keir told the BBC that Ms Reeves would be Chancellor ‘for a very long time to come’.
Reeves Paves Way for Tax Rises
Rachel Reeves refused to rule out tax rises in the wake of the Government’s embarrassing – and expensive – U-turn on welfare reforms.
The Chancellor, whose tears in the Commons on Wednesday spooked the financial markets, said: ‘I’m not going to apologise for making sure the numbers add up.
‘But we do need to make sure that we’re telling a story, and a Labour story. We did that well in the Budget and Spending Review, we increased taxes on the wealthiest and businesses.’
Rachel Reeves, pictured, refused to rule out tax rises in the wake of the Government’s embarrassing – and expensive – U-turn on welfare reforms
Asked whether she was prepared to rule out further tax rises, she said: ‘I’m not going to because it would be irresponsible for a Chancellor to do that.
‘We took the decisions last year to draw a line under unfunded commitments and economic mismanagement.
‘So we’ll never have to do something like that again. But there are costs to what happened.’
Reacting to the welfare U-turn, she said: ‘It’s been damaging. I’m not going to deny that.’
