And so they came. The British government's frontbench team was ready to get on with the emergency recall of parliament. Behind them in green leather seats the massed ranks of Labour MPs twitched and fidgeted.
Such was the number of MPs from all parties that had returned to the Commons to debate the Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Bill that at least a dozen stood at the entrance to the chamber and the eyes were fixed on the Prime Minister, Mr Blair.
Whatever had been written and said about the detail of the Bill before the House of Commons sat yesterday, once they were there, there was no doubting the expectant hush that descended once Mr Blair sprang to his feet shortly after the formal prayers of the House.
Mr Blair did not waste any time. Of course, the House would join him in expressing the "disgust, outrage and condemnation" of those responsible for the bombing of Omagh. In a slow, passionate voice, he said that the aim of the bombers was not just to kill innocent people "but was to strike at the very heart of the peace process. The best response we can give is not to abandon the peace process but to carry it forward vigorously, to deny them the very objective they seek, and continue to work for a better future for Northern Ireland."
Those responsible for Omagh "have no support", he thundered again and again, "no votes, no mandate from any part of any community in the island of Ireland".
After praising the statesmanship of politicians such as the UUP leader, David Trimble and the deputy leader of the SDLP, Seamus Mallon, and welcoming Sinn Fein's statement that all violence should end for good in Northern Ireland, MPs drew a collective breath when Mr Blair tackled the substantive issue of the legislation before them.
With the promise of a "carefully moderated, sensible, well-targeted response" to "mop up the recalcitrant, renegade" terrorist groups operating in Northern Ireland, the government must have thought it had the doubting Thomases in the bag.
The Labour backbenchers, Tony Benn and Tam Dalyell, and a succession of Tories, not to mention the SDLP, the UUP and the DUP clearly had other ideas. The legislation was being rushed through parliament and they were not at all happy.
Mr Trimble made the ominous prediction that while Dublin retained the power of internment and London did not, would it not be possible for a member of the `Real IRA' to flee to a safe haven in the UK if internment was used in Ireland?
Mr Blair was caught on the back foot. He replied swiftly that his government could indeed act without delay on internment, but the time was not right.
The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, and the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, spoke with disarming humanity about their sorrow at seeing so many coffins in Omagh where once happy and lively children had been, but were now replaced with the cloak of death.
Indeed, such was the gravity of the atmosphere in the chamber that it was not until the Tory MP, Mr Richard Shepherd, stood up to speak nearly two hours after parliament began that some MPs began to let their guard down.
Mr Shepherd pleaded and begged with the House for several minutes, raging at the "manipulation and spin" of "anonymous" spokesmen, all the while calling on the government to give MPs more time to debate such important legislation.
Then one by one MPs spoke of their "astonishment" that in the words of the Labour MP, Mr Tony Benn, "we are being rubberstamped . . . It is like the Supreme Soviet summoned to carry out the orders of the Central Committee".
The dismay of Labour, Tory, Unionist and SDLP MPs grew to a climax that threatened revolt. An uncomfortable moment for the government was averted only by Labour's huge majority in the Commons, which insisted that despite reservations the debate must go on.