The Labour Party crisis has taken a comic turn as Jeremy Corbyn's newly-appointment Defence Secretary missed his House of Commons debut as he was dashing back from Glastonbury Festival.
Clive Lewis was named as the replacement for promoted Emily Thornberry amid the turmoil of the 'Labour coup' against the party leader in the aftermath of 'Brexit'.
But the Norwich South MP was still on a field in Somerset when he received the news - and was expected to lead Labour at Defence Questions in Parliament at 2.30pm.
In the event, Thornberry, now Shadow Foreign Secretary, took charge.
In response to her first question, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon quipped: "We will welcome the new Shadow Defence Secretary. I think he was AWOL on his first parade. He is the fourth Shadow Defence Secretary I have faced and I hope he will last."
In a possibly tongue-in-cheek gesture, John Woodcock, the chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) defence committee and arch-Corbyn critic, wrote to Corbyn stating it was his "intention" to step in - citing parliamentary protocol.
"I should therefore speak from he despatch box in the event that the new shadow defence secretary you have appointed today does not make it back from Glastonbury in time to hold the government to account."
Woodcock has clashed with Corbyn over their views on Trident in particular.
Yesterday, as attempts to destabilise Corbyn began, his deputy Tom Watson was making his way back from the festival too.
Watson discussed Glastonbury with Corbyn during crisis talks this morning, when he also warned a leadership challenge was imminent.
At Glastonbury, Watson posted a video to SnapChat of himself enjoying a Silent Disco at around 4am, several hours after Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn was sacked, triggering the crisis. Some 20 frontbenchers have now quit.
