Chancellor Rachel Reeves pulled out of a planned City of London event on Tuesday morning amid ratcheting pressure over the future of the Prime Minister.
Ms Reeves was due to take part in a “fireside chat” with the Lady Mayor of London at the City’s global risks summit at around 11am, after attending Cabinet.
The Treasury confirmed she would not take part in the event and would be replaced by Treasury minister Lucy Rigby.
The Chancellor was expected to address the current pressures and macroeconomic risks facing industry, government and regulators.
Ms Reeves was among members of Cabinet to arrive at Downing Street on Tuesday morning.
She did not respond to questions from reporters as she entered 11 Downing Street.
Sir Keir Starmer is vowing to remain as Prime Minister despite mounting calls for him to quit, with reports that these include a number of ministers.
The beleaguered Labour leader told his gathered Cabinet that he plans to continue governing despite the fallout of weak local election results.
Four senior ministers – Technology Secretary Liz Kendall, Business Secretary Peter Kyle, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden and Housing Secretary Steve Reed – backed the Prime Minister after the meeting.
There were also reports on Tuesday that Rachel Reeves’ allies have argued she should remain at the Treasury even if Sir Keir steps down.
Ministers close to Reeves told the Financial Times that they fear a leadership context could result in chaos in an already shaky bond market.
The yield on 30-year UK Government bonds – also known as gilts – jumped as much as 13 basis points to 5.807% in Tuesday morning trading.
They have since dipped slightly but are up nine basis points for the day.
The yield on 10-year gilts is also higher, but remains below recent highs reported last month.
