The Chancellor was visibly distressed, wiping tears from her cheeks as Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch tore into the government ’s climbdown over welfare the previous evening. According to Reeves’ spokesperson, the reason she was upset was a ‘personal matter, which – as you would expect – we are not going to get into’.

Rachel Reeves has said she had had "a tough day" and had been "clearly upset", as she gave her first interview since crying in the House of Commons on Wednesday. She did not go into details behind the incident saying she had been dealing with "a personal issue" adding: "Today's a new day and I'm just cracking on with the job.