diff -r 32cc7d219c38 -r 7ce030f14aa9 src/Pure/Tools/debugger.scala
--- a/src/Pure/Tools/debugger.scala	Mon Aug 24 20:32:32 2015 +0200
+++ b/src/Pure/Tools/debugger.scala	Mon Aug 24 20:50:51 2015 +0200
@@ -81,8 +81,18 @@
       threads.getOrElse(thread_name, Nil)
 
     def update_thread(thread_name: String, debug_states: List[Debug_State]): State =
-      if (debug_states.isEmpty) copy(threads = threads - thread_name, focus = focus - thread_name)
-      else copy(threads = threads + (thread_name -> debug_states))
+    {
+      val threads1 =
+        if (debug_states.nonEmpty) threads + (thread_name -> debug_states)
+        else threads - thread_name
+      val focus1 =
+        focus.get(thread_name) match {
+          case Some(c) if debug_states.nonEmpty =>
+            focus + (thread_name -> Context(thread_name, debug_states))
+          case _ => focus - thread_name
+        }
+      copy(threads = threads1, focus = focus1)
+    }
 
     def set_focus(c: Context): State = copy(focus = focus + (c.thread_name -> c))