It was bruising and Peter Mandelson looked thoroughly downtrodden. Notwithstanding his efforts in Northern Ireland and his legacy as one of the prime architects of the New Labour project, his final hours in the Commons as Northern Secretary were a painful and humbling experience.
The news of Mr Mandelson's resignation from the government, for the second time, swept through the press dining room in the Commons. Mr Mandelson had dropped another political bombshell and this time, it seemed, there would be no return to the government fold for the "King of Spin".
When Mr Mandelson stood up in the Commons for Northern Ireland Questions at 2.30 p.m., he must have reflected that the next hour would be one of the most difficult of his life.
The Conservative benches erupted in laughter but a determined Mr Mandelson ignored their derision and ploughed on with a statement on the government's commitment to developing a modern police service in Northern Ireland.
The First Minister, Mr David Trimble, stood up and expressed his thanks for the work Mr Mandelson had done in Northern Ireland.
Mr Mandelson listened carefully, without betraying any emotion, but he neatly sidestepped a question from the Shadow Northern Ireland secretary, Mr Andrew Mackay, who asked him to accept that his resignation was "the right decision".
When Mr Tony Blair emerged from behind the Speaker's chair to take his place on the government benches for Prime Minister's Question Time at 3.00 p.m., Mr Mandelson shuffled along the bench to make way for him, probably for the last time.
The two men exchanged a brief glance and Mr Mandelson gave a quick wink before turning to face the Opposition benches.
It was now left to Mr Blair to put a brave face on what was undoubtedly a hugely embarrassing task.
Whether he was fuming inside, no one could tell, but as Mr Mandelson sat glum-faced on the government front bench, Mr Blair faced the Conservative onslaught.
The Conservative leader, Mr William Hague, struck a devastating blow. "Now you've notched up the historic achievement of being forced to sack the same minister for the same offence, twice in 25 months, do you recognise that your career-long dependency on Mr Mandelson has been a monumental error of judgment?"
Straining to be heard over the raucous laughter from the Conservative benches, Mr Blair looked even more exasperated than he usually does with Mr Hague. "I don't suppose I ever expected you to behave graciously at all over his resignation," Mr Blair replied, as cries of "shabby", directed at Mr Hague, echoed from the government side.