A SPOKESPERSON for Rachel Reeves has said her tears at PMQs were about "a personal matter".
The Chancellor was visibly tearful in the Commons, as her position came under intense scrutiny after the welfare U-turn which put an almost £5 billion black hole in her plans.
But allies said she was dealing with a “personal matter” and No 10 said she had Keir Starmer’s “full backing”.
A spokesperson for the Chancellor said: “It’s a personal matter, which, as you would expect, we are not going to get into.
“The Chancellor will be working out of Downing Street this afternoon.”
Downing Street has also said Reeves has the Prime Minister’s “full backing”.
Asked why Starmer did not confirm in the Commons that he still had faith Reeves, the Prime Minister’s press secretary said: “He has done so repeatedly.
“The Chancellor is going nowhere. She has the Prime Minister’s full backing."
They added: “He has said it plenty of times, he doesn’t need to repeat it every time the Leader of the Opposition speculates about Labour politicians.
“The Chancellor and the Prime Minister are focused entirely on delivering for working people.
“It’s thanks to the Chancellor’s management of the economy that we managed to restore stability, which has led to four interest rate cuts, wages rising faster than inflation and she recently delivered a spending review that invested in Britain’s national renewal.”
Asked whether the Prime Minister still had confidence in Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, the press secretary said: “Yes.”
The Tories have said “we need to know what’s going on” with Reeves after the Chancellor was seen visibly upset.
Kemi Badenoch’s spokesman said “personal matter doesn’t really clear it up” and “you normally tell people what the personal matter is”.
Asked whether politicians should disclose all personal matters in their lives regardless of what they are, he said: “That’s an absurd question.”
He added: “I’m not going to speculate… I think we should find out what’s going on.”
Reports suggested Reeves had been involved in an altercation with Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle shortly before Prime Minister’s Questions.
A spokeswoman for the Speaker said: “No comment.”
