By Stephen Topping
Sir Keir Starmer says he was ‘probably the last’ person to realise Rachel Reeves was in tears during Prime Minister’s Questions. The Chancellor was seen wiping tears in the Commons during the weekly event on Wednesday (July 2). It came one day after the Government was forced to scrap parts of its controversial welfare reform plans following fierce backlash from backbench Labour MPs – leaving a potential 拢5 billion black hole for the Treasury to plug. The Prime Minister dodged a question from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch over whether Ms Reeves would continue in her role before the next election – although he later told the BBC she would be ‘chancellor for a very long time to come’. Speaking to reporters this morning (Thursday), Sir Keir admitted he had not realised the Chancellor had been in tears at that point – instead being caught up in the ‘bang, bang, bang’ of Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). He said: “I didn’t appreciate what was happening because – as you will probably appreciate – PMQs is pretty wired, it goes from question to question, and I’m literally up-and-down, question, looking at who’s asked me a question, thinking about my response, and getting up and answering it. “So it wasn’t just yesterday, no prime minister ever has had side conversations during PMQs. It does happen in other debates when there is a bit more time, but in PMQs it is bang, bang, bang, and that’s what it was yesterday. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE “And therefore, I was probably the last to appreciate anything else going on in the chamber. That’s just a straightforward, human explanation – a common sense explanation if you like.” — For the latest stories and breaking news visit manchestereveningnews.co.uk . Get the latest headlines, features and analysis that matter to you by signing up to our various Manchester Evening News newsletters here. You can also get all your favourite content from the Manchester Evening News on WhatsApp. Click here to stay up to date with the latest. Follow us on X @mennewsdesk for all the latest stories and updates on breaking incidents from across the region and beyond, as well as on our Facebook page here . If you prefer reading our stories on your phone, consider downloading the Manchester Evening News app here, and our newsdesk will make sure every time an essential story breaks, you’ll be the first to hear about it.