Lindsay Hoyle Had 'Altercation' With Rachel Reeves Before She Cried At PMQs

Rachel Reeves had an altercation with Lindsay Hoyle before she cried at prime minister’s questions, it has emerged.

The Speaker is said to have spoken to the chancellor as she arrived in the Commons for the weekly PMQs clash.

One parliamentary insider told HuffPost UK: “He pulled her over, said something, then immediately apologised as she left the chamber in tears.”

Reeves then returned shortly afterwards with her sister, Cabinet Office minister Ellie Reeves, and took her seat on the frontbench alongside Keir Starmer.

But she was clearly upset throughout the exchanges and was seen being consoled by other MPs, including deputy PM Angela Rayner.

It is unclear what Hoyle spoke to the chancellor about, but it is thought to be connected to an incident in the Commons chamber on Tuesday, when he told her to give shorter answers to MPs. Reeves is then said to have rolled her eyes.

Asked about the incident before PMQs, a spokeswoman for Lindsay Hoyle said: “No comment.”

Reeves was visibly upset at PMQs, during which Starmer refused to guarantee that she would keep her job as chancellor after being asked by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

The cost of government borrowing rose and the value of the pound sunk as the international money markets reacted badly to the uncertainty over Reeves’ future.

However, a spokeswoman for the prime minister later insisted that Reeves was “going nowhere”.

She said: “She has the prime minister’s full backing. 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.”

Asked why the chancellor had been crying, a spokesperson for Reeves 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.”