Rachel Reeves has finally spoken out after crying during Prime Minister’s Questions last July. The Chancellor said she became tearful due to personal matters rather than speculation about her future, adding that she would not apologise for doing so.
The Chancellor said she “regrets” going to PMQs after being “overcome with emotion and and would “stay in the office next time”. Ms Reeves was captured by cameras wiping away her tears while Sir Keir Starmer refused to guarantee she would remain in her position. However, Downing Street insisted after the incident that she was “going nowhere” and was backed by the Prime Minister.
She told Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts: “Well, I regret going to PMQs — but you know, if I’d have known that was going to happen, obviously I wouldn’t have gone. I expect most of your Mumsnet users would’ve had a day at work when they felt overcome with emotion for whatever reason.
“I guess the difference in my job is that the TV cameras are on when that happens. So I’m not gonna apologise for crying. I don’t think people should do that. But I think next time I feel like doing that, I’ll stay in the office.”
When asked if the incident keeps her awake at night, Ms Reeves insisted she has “enough things to worry about at the moment”. She explained how the ongoing situation in the Middle East is more important than “pictures of me looking a little bit upset.”