Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has revealed on a podcast the harrowing moment she realised the Queen was dying. The Metro reports that she understood the gravity of the situation as soon as she read the message on the note given to her in the House of Commons.
In an interview with Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel, on The News Agents podcast, she revealed that the note was "simple" and stated: "The Queen is unwell and Keir needs to leave the chamber as soon as possible to be briefed."
She added: "You don’t get a note saying the Queen is unwell if she just has a cough or cold, so I felt the gravity of it."
READ MORE: William and Kate say Queen sent sign she was 'looking down on us' after she died
On Thursday, September 8, MPs were informed of Queen Elizabeth II deteriorating health as they were in a debate about the cost of living crisis. The note was passed to the shadow cabinet as Labour leader Keir Starmer was giving his response to Prime Minister Liz Truss’s energy bill statement.
On the podcast, Ms Rayner said it was difficult to inform Mr Starmer with the note, as he was talking about something "so important" and she "didn’t want to interrupt."
Ms Rayner said: "At the moment in time [when I was handed the note], everything else that was being discussed kind of disappeared.
"I was trying to get the note to Keir without being too dramatic, but it was only when I got the nod off of Mr Speaker saying “this is actually quite urgent, don’t wait for the right opportunity” that I was able to hand it to him."
After receiving the news, the Labour leader left the chamber along with Ms Truss, as the rest of the house was informed of the concerning situation. Ms Rayner said the news of the late monarch’s ill health came as a shock, and impacted her on a personal level. She added that it "changed everything" and reminded many people of losing important people in their own lives.
The politician went on to say that she knew she needed to let her boss know as soon as possible as "if the news broke and Keir’s in full throttle speaking about something else then I’ve not protected him".
Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, read a message to MPs saying: "I know I speak on behalf of the entire house when I say we spend our best wishes to Our Majesty the Queen and that she and the Royal Family are in our thoughts and prayers at this moment." Her Majesty died hours later, with Britain coming together to say a final farewell at a grand state funeral on Monday.
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