Rachel Reeves appeared close to tears during the weekly clash between Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch, analysis shows. The Chancellor also looked as if she was balking at an insinuation both she and Sir Keir had resigned from Government at the first parliamentary sparring between the PM and Leader of the Opposition at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs).

Body language expert Judi James told the Daily Express: "The lighting in the Commons is notoriously unforgiving, but during this session of PMQs Rachel Reeves looked emotionally drained. Her face looked puffy and her eyes appeared tired, either as though she might be close to tears again or as though she might have already been crying."

She observed that when Mrs Badenoch laid into the Chancellor, claiming she showed incompetence and disloyalty to Sir Keir, Ms Reeves "applied a thin, sickly smile".

Judi said: "But as Starmer praised her, his constant use of 'we' to link himself with her saw the corners of her lips pull down. The use of the plural did sound as though they had both technically resigned together on Monday."

The analysis comes as Ms Reeves's position as Chancellor appears to be on shaky ground, with reports suggesting Andy Burnham, widely tipped to replace Sir Keir in Downing Street, will replace her.

Sir Keir announced he was standing down as prime minister on Monday, following Mr Burnham's victory in the Makerfield by-election, pressure from backbench Labour MPs and the party's dire polling.

In a tetchy exchange between Sir Keir and the Conservative Party leader, Mrs Badenoch began by taking aim at the Government's failure to publish its Defence Investment Plan (DIP).

The PM said the Government’s plan would be published before the NATO summit, which begins on July 7. Mrs Badenoch used her second question to attack Ms Reeves, who was sitting to Sir Keir’s left on the front bench in Parliament.

She said Sir Keir “wouldn’t be in this mess if his Chancellor had found money for the DIP” and asked: “Does the Prime Minister feel let down by his Chancellor?”

Sir Keir replied to Ms Reeves, “ended austerity inflicted on our country for 14 long years – this is the Chancellor who got the economy growing”.

Observing the Chancellor's body language from the start, Judi observed: "When Starmer rose to his feet, David Lammy even appeared to be watching Reeves behind the PM's back with a smile of what looked like encouragement tinged with possible concern.

"Reeves's first gesture looked like the 'tell' in terms of defining her inner feelings. Her hand rose to clutch at and play with the metal necklace she wore.

"Fiddling with jewellery can be an expression of inner anxiety or distress. It can be a self-comfort gesture, and it provides an 'excuse' to form a partial body barrier as the arm comes up over the torso, which can suggest vulnerability."

Judi said the Chancellor's eye direction suggested "reflective or distracted thoughts", with her eyes to the side at the start rather than on Sir Keir.

She added: "A head flick seemed aimed at pulling herself up to brace for the inevitable attack from the benches opposite, but some staccato blinking and a twitching mouth suggested inner tension or anxiety."

The body language expert concluded her analysis by observing that when Mrs Badenoch accused Ms Reeves of letting Sir Keir down, the Chancellor's "low-energy response" involved raised brows, some rapid blinking and some silent muttering.

After Mrs Badenoch criticised Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Sir Keir replied his Government had “delivered the fastest fall in NHS waiting list for 17 years, with the money for new rights for renters and working people – and we’re lifting half a million children out of poverty”.

He added: “The test for every prime minister is handing over the country in better shape than you found it. I know I can do that, which is more than can be said for her predecessor (Rishi Sunak), her predecessor’s predecessor (Liz Truss), and her predecessor’s predecessor’s predecessor (Boris Johnson).”

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson shook her head as Mrs Badenoch charged her with having “taxed private schools to pay for more teachers but the number of teachers has gone down – it turns out appointing a spiteful class warrior as Education Secretary was a disaster”.

Sir Keir said: “I am so proud that she is sitting there, and so should everybody in this country who cares about social mobility. She knows that for poor children, education is absolutely vital, and that is why it drives every single priority and value that she has.”

On Labour backbenchers, Mrs Badenoch said they were “cheering so loudly while there are 400 knives stuck in” the Prime Minister’s back, asking: “Does the Prime Minister feel betrayed by the people he got into Parliament?”

In response, Sir Keir said he would “miss” Prime Minister’s Questions and continued: “I’m very proud of every one of our MPs who’ve had a landslide Labour victory, coming from all different backgrounds, from all different places across the country.

“We inflicted the biggest loss on the Tory party opposite in the history of their party."