When Watson did arrive back at the Commons, he was reportedly “furious” with the way the reshuffle had been handled, not least reports of the way proceedings were being managed by Milne. As a result, he made a point of walking into Corbyn’s office shoulder to shoulder with Hilary Benn, as the shadow foreign secretary arrived for a final meeting to “iron out” the terms by which he would be allowed to continue in post. As the meeting continued, Milne attempted to secure additional assurances from Benn over his future conduct. At that point Watson, deploying some industrial language, reportedly told Milne “you need to stay quiet. You shouldn’t even be in this meeting”. Milne responded “I’m here at the request of the leader of the Labour party”. To which Watson replied “If the leader of the Labour party has anything to say to the shadow foreign secretary he can say it himself”.