Rachel Reeves’s uncle has revealed what he believes caused his niece’s tears in the House of Commons last week. Terry Smith, 72, the brother of the Chancellor’s mother Sally Reeves, laid the blame at the feet of Keir Starmer, who he said failed to back Reeves when grilled on her future.

Smith told the Mail Online: “I think Rachel was upset because she wasn’t getting the backing she deserved, Keir Starmer immediately backtracked and backed her.” The Chancellor’s tears during Prime Minister’s Questions last week caused shock across the world and caused panic in the financial markets who feared that Reeves was set to be sacked. The Prime Minister said that he was not aware of his Chancellor’s tears as he was forced to publicly back her the following day to restore calm.

The Chancellor wiped away tears as the PM avoided backing her (Image: House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire)

Reeves later insisted that she had been dealing with a “personal issue” as rumour swirled of a row with colleagues or even her boss.

The incident happened the day after the government was forced into a humiliating climbdown on their welfare bill which they hoped would save the Treasury £5 billion but ultimately saved little to no money in benefit payments.

Smith added: “For Rachel to be taking all the responsibility just doesn’t seem right.

“I don’t agree with Rachel’s politics, but I don’t think she deserves all the blame. Keir Starmer needs to take some responsibility, as do Angela Rayner, Ed Miliband and the rest – they are all begging for money from her for their departments.”

Smith went on to blast his niece’s targeting of pensioners who he believes should be left alone.

Reeves’s uncle urged her to ‘stop spending money on migrants’ as she looks to generate funds (Image: Getty)

Smith believes described himself as a pensioner who has paid his dues all his life as he implored his niece to leave pensioners alone.

The government were strongly criticised last year for their cuts to the winter fuel payment which left millions without the one-off payment to help with their energy bills.

They later U-turned on the decision by significantly raising the threshold at which people would receive the benefit.

The move was a bungled attempt at raising much needed funds for the public purse amid an apparent £22 billion black hole they said was left by the Conservatives.

Smith believes that money could be saved by reducing the amount spent on migrants and those living in hotels awaiting the outcome of their asylum cases.

He added: “They should just stop spending money on the migrants and focus on fixing the country instead.”