Cobra (2020–2021): Season 1, Episode 6 - Episode #1.6 - full transcript
As anarchy explodes on the streets and the nation is rocked with night upon night of rioting, Fraser and his team reach the endgame in their mission to get the lights switched back on in ...
You're quite right.
Are you going to make a move Archie?
Have you just sacked Dominic Knight?
That is outrageous.
You're quite right.
Are you going to make a move Archie?
You may be able to force me out,
but can you get yourself in?
I'm going down to Chequers
with the lorry drivers today,
and I'm going to deliver
our message.
I will be back after you're
long gone, son.
(ENGINE REVS, TYRES SCREECH)
People's Justice has called
for a boycott on talks
until Minett's death is clarified.
That is your boyfriend
having dinner with Tony Lulin.
Lulin uses an assassin
and is greatly feared.
I need to talk to you, Mum,
can I come and see you?
No, you need to stay inside.
The situation is really volatile.
Don't leave the house tonight.
Where's my mum?
Trust me.
Posh white girls tend to fair
very badly in prison.
If I know Peter Mott, he'll flip
rather than take the blame.
Ellie told us that she felt
pressured into lying.
Who do you think it'll be that
she'll name. You, or her mother?
You see, I don't need us
to agree on everything,
I just want somebody who's not an
arsehole and that I can trust.
How do we know that you didn't
have Scott Minett taken out?
Why don't you get back to your
barricades, you posturing idiot?
I'm coming for you tomorrow. Open
the roads by any means necessary.
(SHOUTING) PICKERING: We're losing
control of the situation.
I'm authorising you to return fire.
(GUNSHOTS)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(WOMAN CRYING)
NEWS REPORTER: The mood is one
of shock and disbelief,
as protestors gather
at the blockade
where troops opened fire with
live ammunition yesterday evening.
There has been considerable
Internet speculation
that one of the victims was a young
journalist called Yvette Taylor,
who was at the site
taking photographs,
although Police have still
refused to confirm this.
In the meantime,
a Government spokesperson
said that troops came under attack
with military issue grenades
and only fired in self-defence.
The Prime Minister is expected to
make a statement to Parliament later.
ROWNTREE: She was a young woman
who was just doing her job.
She was holding a camera, not a gun.
How many more people have to die,
Prime Minister?
How many more victims must there be
to your stubborn ego
and thirst for power?
It is time for us to throw out
this rotten
and incompetent government
by any means necessary,
including a general strike.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)
Morning, everyone.
ALL: Morning.
After careful consideration,
I have written a letter
to the Prime Minister
in which I have made it clear
that I can no longer,
in good conscience,
remain part of the Cabinet
and have resigned as Home Secretary.
(JOURNALISTS MURMURING)
It has been an enormous privilege
to hold one of the great
offices of state,
but the terrible events
of this week
have made it impossible for me
to continue.
I believe this situation has been
mismanaged from the start.
JOURNALIST: Some might say you
contributed to the situation
with your incendiary rhetoric
about People's Justice.
I make no apologies
for listening to the legitimate
concerns of ordinary British people.
And I certainly do not believe
they should have been met
with bullets and special tribunals.
There are rumours that you and
your supporters will abstain
in the forthcoming confidence vote.
That remains to be seen.
All options are open.
I'm sorry, do you mean you could
even vote against the government?
All options are open.
(JOURNALISTS CLAMOUR)
Thank you. Rob, at the back.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Good morning, everyone.
ALL: Good morning.
The Home Secretary will not
be joining us today.
In his absence,
I will chair the meeting.
The soldier who was burned by
the white phosphorous grenade
has just died.
We have made six arrests
from a neo-Nazi group
that infiltrated People's Justice,
who are believed to have contributed
to most of the violence.
They will appear before special
tribunals tomorrow morning.
We should throw the book
at those bastards.
Any word back yet from ballistics?
So far we only have evidence
of soldiers discharging weapons.
Well, I authorised live ammunition.
I will take full responsibility.
Fraser, what's happening
with the transformer?
It was undamaged,
although a section of the rioters
did get dangerously close to the
trailer with petrol bombs.
It is now nearing the substation.
How long will it take to install?
I'll have engineers working on it
around the clock.
Well, I want every record smashed.
We get that thing working,
we can start to rebuild.
My team will be there until
the lights come back on.
Now, as you are all aware,
the opposition are putting down
a vote of no confidence
and there is speculation based on
a "senior Cabinet source" -
now an ex-Cabinet source -
that I might be forced to resign.
Now, let me be perfectly clear
about one thing.
I made a promise to the people
at that hospital
that I would turn the lights back on
and I intend to keep that promise.
We were faced with a situation
of outright insurgence
against the law of this country
and the basic rights of our people.
I will not resign.
(APPLAUSE)
(MOBILE PHONE CHIMES, VIBRATES)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Latest ComRes poll shows
that 42% of people believe
that it was the protestors
and not the government
that were responsible for what
happened. Not a majority.
Sizeable though, especially in
the immediate aftermath.
58% believe they were infiltrated
by the far-right. They were.
And 72% agree with the proposition
that civil liberties
should be restricted
in the case of a national emergency.
I'm about to join the list
of Prime Ministers
only ever remembered for one thing.
Not always a bad list.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(BABY CRYING)
(TELEPHONE RINGS)
SALLY: Gold Commander, come in.
Sally.
We're out of fuel. I don't think
the generator has long left.
(POWERING DOWN)
(SIGHS)
Yes, I do get that but the issue
is a bit more... (DOOR OPENS)
I am, of course, aware...
Hugh, you know,
I'll get back to you.
Got a bit of horse-trading going on
for Home Secretary.
Get yourself a constituency quick
and we can promote you.
I'm resigning too, Anna.
OK.
Four people are dead.
Five.
The soldier in hospital
just passed away.
Yvette Taylor was a young
photographer, she wasn't
even a rioter.
Yeah, and soldiers high on a mixture
of fear and adrenaline
clearly thought her camera
was a weapon.
The troops came under fire.
That has not been established
at all.
It's funny you have a little less
outrage about a 21-year-old soldier
with a wife and baby.
That's a cheap shot.
No, the cheap shot was throwing
a phosphorous grenade at him.
Do you think this hasn't caused the
Prime Minister sleepless nights -
Oh, admit it, he's all you bloody
care about, really, isn't he?
Your precious Prime Minister.
I do admit it, he is precious
when I look at the alternatives.
We were facing an insurrection
with a strong racist element.
Oh, don't do that. Why not?
Yeah, I knew I shouldn't have
taken this job in the first place.
Oh, come on.
Deep down I have always known
we have different values.
And mine don't include firing at
journalists and unarmed protestors.
Oh, do fuck off with your
sanctimonious whining. Excuse me?!
Take that to Twitter
and slap a hashtag on it.
You hawk your conscience around
when it suits you.
At least I have one to hawk.
You know the funny thing about you,
Anna, is you think your worldview
is beyond question.
Civilised society. Quiet governance.
The art of the possible.
All goes out of the window when your
interests are threatened, though.
And you never once stop to think
about how it's all shaped
because of your privilege
and your wealth. I think about it
all the bloody time!
But it was also shaped,
and very specifically,
by going into the town of Vukovar
after the collapse of civilised
society. Oh, give it up
with bloody Yugoslavia -
it was 30 years ago.
There is no statute of limitations!
God, I wouldn't have thought
I'd need to say that...
to you of all people.
Me of all people?
Oh, for f...
What the fuck does that mean?
Whatever you want it to mean.
Well, thank you for your job offer
to be a fig leaf for your party
and its overt
and sometimes not overt racism.
(SECURITY PASS CLATTERS)
I'm going to clear my desk.
You're gonna need that to get out,
you idiot.
(DOOR SLAMS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
I haven't got long, Archie,
what's this about?
No need for that tone, Robert,
I come here in a spirit
of compromise.
I know I resigned,
but I am here to assure you of my
support in the confidence vote.
Why?
I don't think it's the right time
for a change of leader.
Anyway, the offer stands.
What's the catch? No catch.
Of course there's a catch.
A small symbolic gesture
would be nice.
Just to make me feel...appreciated.
Go on.
I understand Francine Bridge
has just resigned,
so there's space in the policy unit
for a reformed character.
Dominic Knight.
Everybody deserves a second chance.
He can't work with Anna,
you know that.
I do know that.
You like it here, Robert.
Everybody does.
Nobody wants to leave,
especially such a short time
into their term of office.
You have such hopes
of reforming the country,
maybe even dipping a finger
into the great honeypot
of social care reform. (CHUCKLES)
It's all I ask.
It's a very small price to pay
to stay in Number 10.
You're quite right.
Are you going to make a move Archie?
STEPH: Er, we've reached that
elevated stretch of road
we were concerned about, but the
engineers won't give the go ahead.
FRASER: They're being too cautious.
I'll give the go ahead.
What's the next best route?
There is another way, but it
would be at least another two days.
Is it the weight limit?
Yep.
Bollocks!
I thought we had all this sorted,
Stephanie. Yeah we thought so too,
but it seems like
the engineers miscalculated
the camber or something.
The engineers are now saying
there is a 40-50% chance
the bridge will collapse.
Oh, top data, guys.
And the driver's heard the risk
assessment and he doesn't want
to be Flat Stanley so...
Ah. We can't just leave it there,
not after all we've been through.
Fuck!
He's really not going to like this.
You there, Fraser? Is it sorted?
Listen, we've hit a bit of a snag.
We decided to push on
in spite of the risks,
but the driver's refusing to...
Get another driver.
Yeah.
That's the plan.
(THUNDER RUMBLES)
Hello?
Who's that?
It's Stephanie Lodge from
the Civil Contingencies -
Put Fraser back on.
Er, I can't.
Put Fraser back on!
I'm sorry, Prime Minister, it's...
Stop stammering
and tell me what the fuck
is going on there.
(THUNDER RUMBLES)
It's Anna Marshall.
You're doing a great job there,
Stephanie.
What's actually happening now?
He's going to drive the trailer
himself.
(ENGINE STARTS)
(GEAR GRINDS)
Come on, come on.
What's happening?
Yeah, he's moving.
Has he ever driven a...?
Not to my knowledge, no.
(CHUCKLES)
(CREAKING)
He's halfway.
(GASPS)
It's going to collapse.
It's going down...
The bridge can't take it.
He's stopped.
(CREAKING)
What are you doing?
What are you doing?
ENGINEER: Get out of there!
The bridge is collapsing!
OK, he's moving again.
Almost made it but the bridge
isn't holding.
Front wheels clearing.
Wheels have cleared,
he's almost there.
Rear wheels clear. You're there!
Well done! It's OK.
He's made it.
He's made it, he got it through.
Thanks. Thank you, Stephanie.
Yes.
Please tell Fraser...thanks.
(EXHALES, CHUCKLES)
So it is absolutely clear now
that they were using the flat of
a British MP to set up a drugs deal.
And the twist is the heroin
wasn't being offered for cash.
A hit.
On a dissident called Murat Tayfaral
whom they were hoping to lure out
by using the flat
to establish credentials.
To be carried out by Nico.
It's not him. I just...
I cannot believe...
He had a gun.
And he used it to save my daughter.
Who in her debrief
said that she heard them call him
by that name.
What now?
Now he is between a rock
and a hard place.
I am hoping that he sees sense
and chooses the rock
on which I am perched
like a particularly
beguiling mermaid.
You're omitting one fairly important
detail about mermaids and sailors.
What are you offering him?
A deal,
by which he gives up everything
he knows about Toni Lulin
and his networks with the Turks and
the Chinese operating the Balkans.
That will get him a new identity
and our protection.
Or...
We send him back
to where he comes from.
Which will mean...
They will kill him, Eleanor.
He used you, Anna.
But either way...
he's gone.
That was the back-up generator.
Bloody People's Justice went off
with the other one.
All pumps and ventilators
have failed
and all emergency surgery
has been suspended.
Look, we have no more generators
capable of
keeping this place running
that we can get here in time.
They've just done an emergency
tracheostomy on a 14-year-old.
He's still critical.
How long until the transformer
is up and running?
There was a delay getting it here.
They're already under
intense pressure.
I can't risk...
I'll find out.
(EXHALES, INHALES SHARPLY)
Dad in his study?
He's packing.
Does this mean you'll stay here now?
Yeah. While Dad's away, for sure.
Why did you go to the flat
in the first place?
I wanted you to come home.
I thought if I just talked
to you then...
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACH)
(BAG DROPS)
Cab is due any minute.
OK.
I saw you're facing a vote
of no confidence.
I guess a lot depends
on Archie, then.
Everything depends on that.
Good luck with that.
Safe journey.
Yeah, better head. Bye, darling.
Bye, Dad.
Bye.
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
He had a nice face.
What's going to happen to him now?
I don't know.
Mm.
DOMINIC: Now's the time to strike.
I don't have the support for
a leadership challenge.
Besides it is not an optimum time.
Who wants to deal with this mess?
Then...
More than one way to skin a cat.
The critical thing is
to get rid of her.
Without her hand up his arse,
he's just a Poundshop Sooty.
Sack Anna to stay in power?
Yes. I can't do that.
You have to take it or it's a
general election and the next guests
at this table will be Hezbollah.
Anna is a symbol.
Of who runs things.
Everyone will see it that way.
Who gives a shit how people see it?
You are fighting for
your life here, Rob.
You're quite right.
Are you going to make a move Archie?
(SIRENS WAIL IN DISTANCE)
Your Edin is smart,
stubborn and rude -
all qualities I admire.
Plus, he's a handsome fucker.
Even I'd be tempted if I didn't have
a lovely wife at home.
Do you mind if I give you
some advice?
Get clear of Robert Sutherland
or you'll go under
with the sinking ship.
Save it for the rats.
Archie has demanded that
Sutherland sack you
in return for his support
in the confidence vote.
He won't do it.
Giving in to blackmail only makes
you a prisoner of your blackmailer
and he could never accept that.
What?
You don't get to be Prime Minister
without that little extra something.
That little extra something being
an unquenchable thirst
for the top job.
You can't want him out, as well.
Who else would have handled
this crisis as he has?
My previous concerns about him
were alleviated slightly
by his decisiveness
at the barricades,
I'll grant you that.
And what were your previous
concerns?
Oh, I'll save those for now.
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
(ENGINE STARTS)
ARCHIE: It's your only hope.
I even suggested he replace
Anna with you.
Best not say what his answer was.
I never told Ellie to lie
to the police.
Not, you know, as such. Explicitly.
Great. But Rachel did.
And the PM knew about that?
He tried to turn the other way
especially when Anna was in the room
which, as you know,
is pretty much always.
So Rachel coached Ellie
and the PM knew what was going on.
Of course he knew.
Rachel Sutherland said
posh white girls
shouldn't go to prison.
OK. That's...volcanic.
I was shocked.
Of course you were, Captain Renault.
When are you going to run this?
Just before the confidence vote.
Give you time to draft
your resignation letter.
ANNA: I assume you'll be
monitoring the conversation?
ELEANOR: You assume correctly.
(CAR DOOR OPENS)
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
He won't do it.
What happened to you, Edin?
The war happened. Oh, please.
It's not an excuse.
It's a fact.
You kill people.
(SIGHS)
Tess says you saved her life.
I could not stand by and...
watch them hurt your daughter.
Thank you for that.
I appreciate it has...
brought you considerable problems.
Like the annoying Welsh woman.
(LAUGHS)
She's not so bad, really.
You get used to her.
Nothing else I told you...
was a lie.
Take the offer. No. Why not?
I won't live like that.
At least it is living.
I will resolve matters back home,
trust me.
Then I will go to my house
on the mountainside
and I'll sit under the fig trees
among the butterflies,
and I will wait for you to come.
Don't go back.
I have no choice now.
Life is just moments, Anna.
And ours have been such good ones.
I love you.
I have always loved you.
(SNIFFLES)
(MOBILE PHONE CHIMES)
VOICEMAIL: You have one new message.
ARCHIE: Tick-tock, Robert.
Not long now until
the confidence vote.
I'd like an answer on those
personnel changes we discussed.
The ball's in your court.
You know where to find me.
(MOBILE PHONE RINGS)
It's all over the Internet, Mum.
It's literally everywhere.
Ellie, stop looking at them.
Rich white girls don't belong
in prison.
I didn't even say that.
I said they "fare badly". Ugh.
And the context was entirely
different. I was being ironic.
God, I wish I hadn't listened
to you and Peter.
Well, I wish you hadn't served
Class A drugs.
Then I wouldn't be looking at
a prison sentence myself.
Oh, God, Ellie, sorry.
Look, of course it's not
going to come to that.
Whatever Peter says,
it's just gonna look like
he's just trying to save his own
skin. Do you know what I wish, Mum?
I just wish Georgia was still alive.
(FOOTSTEPS)
Peter turned.
We'll get through it.
(GIRLS SPEAK INDISTINCTLY)
(GIRLS LAUGH)
(GIRLS SCREAM)
(EXHALES, SNIFFLES)
(EXHALES)
(LIQUID POURS)
Should I go and talk to her,
do you think?
I don't know.
Maybe just let her sleep.
I'll go.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Ellie.
Oh.
(CRIES)
You can shut them out, you know?
I can't, Dad, I can't.
Sweetheart, it's going to feel
all right in the morning.
No, it's worse.
Every single morning, Dad,
it's worse.
(CRIES)
Change of sleeping plans.
We're gonna make like
those times in Nairn.
Do you remember that?
Remember those holidays?
You were about four years old...
..and got lost on the beach
and you were crying because
you couldn't find us
and we were there the whole time.
We were right there.
We were right beside you.
(SNIFFLES)
And we had digestive biscuits
for breakfast...
..from a red packet.
It was just the three of us
in that one room.
You remember that?
Because I remember that.
They were the happiest days
of my life.
We're here for you, sweetheart.
There's nobody but us now.
(CRIES GENTLY)
You're quite right.
Are you going to make a move Archie?
I literally cannot wait until I see
her smug little face again.
(CHUCKLES)
(DOOR OPENS)
Thank you so much for coming,
Dominic.
I felt it was important
that we cleared the air.
Thank you, Prime Minister.
Now, I assume you're aware
that your return to Number 10
was contingent upon
Archie supporting me
in the forthcoming confidence vote.
Well, not in so many...
Of course he knows.
Of course he does.
It works for everyone, doesn't it?
No-one is irreplaceable.
An excellent summary.
Good. Coffee's here.
How do you take yours, Dominic?
White, no sugar.
Do you?
(SPOON STIRRING)
(STIRRING CONTINUES)
Do you, indeed?
I don't understand.
He brought us all the way here
just to tell us to go
fuck ourselves.
An excellent summary.
Better call the removal men, Robert.
You can bring me down, Archie.
But you will never take my place.
You've always tried
to exploit this crisis
for your own shitty ends, not caring
who gets hurt along the way.
And that is the worst kind
of politician in my book.
So if you two want coffee,
you can leave by the door
you came through
and fuck off to Starbucks.
FRASER: OK, we're ready
to give this a go.
But this is a first test, OK?
I'm not promising anything.
OK, stand by.
You OK?
I'm fine.
Eleanor James says you're going
to sack me to save your career.
I'm not.
That's what I thought.
Make Parminder Home Secretary.
That's what I thought.
(CHUCKLES LIGHTLY)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
JAMES: I think it's too soon.
The data isn't clear enough.
I should have given them more time.
I've rushed this.
They needed to run the final tests.
Oh, God.
Oh.
Er... Wha...
Is it... Are the police coming?
What did he say?
OK, things are going to be
a bit wobbly at first,
but, ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased to report
that power to the Red Zone
has just been restored.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING CONTINUES)
You did it, Fraser!
You fucking did it.
You put the lights back on!
You kept your promise.
Yes, I did.
I don't care about the confidence
vote anymore.
This is all that matters.
(LAUGHS)
Fuck off to Starbucks?
Well, I would have been
Prime Minister in name only.
And he would have made sure
everyone knew it.
Plus, there's your undying
loyalty to me.
Well, there's that, obviously.
Do you know what would be handy?
If you could dig up a tape of Archie,
in a brothel,
dressed as an SS officer.
He'd probably put that on Instagram.
Yeah, should be something he'd be
ashamed of, I guess. (CHUCKLES)
Lights back on,
he thinks it's all over.
Don't look now but his numbers
are steadily climbing.
Let's see what happens when
it's proved he lied to parliament,
and his wife thinks
she can escape justice
because she is rich and white.
Your strategy for getting
rid of Anna Marshall
didn't go so well, did it?
Plan B then.
Run it past me,
just for my amusement.
Ensure the tabloids know
she likes cavorting
with drug dealers and assassins.
Not an option, don't go there.
Why the hell have you always
got her back?
Because she is a graceful soprano
in a world of hairy-arsed baritones.
Pure as a little bell.
Unlike me you mean.
Oh, Archie, I love you dearly,
but you're as pure
as my dog's bowels
after it devoured the Christmas
cheese selection.
Now, while Team Sutherland
don't know where the bodies
are buried I certainly do,
so the question I'd be asking
myself right now is this -
do I want to fall out with Eleanor?
I hear they're lining up
Parminder Haigh to replace you.
Course they bloody are.
Well, I hope she enjoys her week
in the Home Office
before Her Majesty is forced
to choose a new Prime Minister.
You know what they say about
a week in politics.
Fuck the confidence vote.
I'm going to the country anyway.
If they want an election,
I'll give them one and I'll win.
The small matter of the fixed term
parliaments act...
Then I'll abstain from
the confidence vote.
I think the Chief Whip'd have
something to say about that.
Fuck the Chief Whip.
You cannot just ask people
to judge you
on how you've handled the crisis.
You have to offer something new,
something positive.
So you're my Chief of Staff.
Make a break with the past.
Announce a wealth tax.
What?!
Listen - You are joking,
we're still the Conservative Party.
Announce a wealth tax to fund
a solidarity scheme
for victims of the storm.
People with gold taps
on their yachts can afford it.
Say we are going to do things
differently now.
Support diversity without being
a box-ticking opportunist.
Be presidential, as you have been
all through this crisis.
Then you can win.
You're right.
We can't go back
to the way things were.
NEWS REPORTER:
Francine Bridge has hinted
that she might be open to a return
to parliamentary politics.
FRANCINE: I remain a mainstream
social democrat whose core beliefs
are fighting poverty and injustice
through progressive reform.
There must surely be a party around
that represents such values
in these chaotic
and dangerous times.
Good morning, everyone.
ALL: Good morning.
Our new Home Secretary
Parminder Haigh
will be chairing the meeting.
Welcome, Parminder.
Now, today will be
our last daily COBRA,
and I just wanted to thank you all
for your tremendous efforts.
These last weeks have been horrendous
and have led to both
agonising decisions
and terrible outcomes.
People have died.
I have been guided at all times
by what I believe
to be the national interest.
Now, as you are aware,
there is a confidence vote this week.
That vote is now irrelevant.
I intend to call a general election
and let the people pass judgement on
our handling of this crisis.
A crisis that has cost so much
and whose consequences
will be felt for years.
Who do they trust to lead us
through this difficult period
that lies ahead?
Fraser, I understand you have
an update on the Red Zone.
So, we still have some voltage
instability in the Red Zone,
but the other zones are now
fully operational.
(APPLAUSE)
Are you going to make a move Archie?
Have you just sacked Dominic Knight?
That is outrageous.
You're quite right.
Are you going to make a move Archie?
You may be able to force me out,
but can you get yourself in?
I'm going down to Chequers
with the lorry drivers today,
and I'm going to deliver
our message.
I will be back after you're
long gone, son.
(ENGINE REVS, TYRES SCREECH)
People's Justice has called
for a boycott on talks
until Minett's death is clarified.
That is your boyfriend
having dinner with Tony Lulin.
Lulin uses an assassin
and is greatly feared.
I need to talk to you, Mum,
can I come and see you?
No, you need to stay inside.
The situation is really volatile.
Don't leave the house tonight.
Where's my mum?
Trust me.
Posh white girls tend to fair
very badly in prison.
If I know Peter Mott, he'll flip
rather than take the blame.
Ellie told us that she felt
pressured into lying.
Who do you think it'll be that
she'll name. You, or her mother?
You see, I don't need us
to agree on everything,
I just want somebody who's not an
arsehole and that I can trust.
How do we know that you didn't
have Scott Minett taken out?
Why don't you get back to your
barricades, you posturing idiot?
I'm coming for you tomorrow. Open
the roads by any means necessary.
(SHOUTING) PICKERING: We're losing
control of the situation.
I'm authorising you to return fire.
(GUNSHOTS)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(WOMAN CRYING)
NEWS REPORTER: The mood is one
of shock and disbelief,
as protestors gather
at the blockade
where troops opened fire with
live ammunition yesterday evening.
There has been considerable
Internet speculation
that one of the victims was a young
journalist called Yvette Taylor,
who was at the site
taking photographs,
although Police have still
refused to confirm this.
In the meantime,
a Government spokesperson
said that troops came under attack
with military issue grenades
and only fired in self-defence.
The Prime Minister is expected to
make a statement to Parliament later.
ROWNTREE: She was a young woman
who was just doing her job.
She was holding a camera, not a gun.
How many more people have to die,
Prime Minister?
How many more victims must there be
to your stubborn ego
and thirst for power?
It is time for us to throw out
this rotten
and incompetent government
by any means necessary,
including a general strike.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)
Morning, everyone.
ALL: Morning.
After careful consideration,
I have written a letter
to the Prime Minister
in which I have made it clear
that I can no longer,
in good conscience,
remain part of the Cabinet
and have resigned as Home Secretary.
(JOURNALISTS MURMURING)
It has been an enormous privilege
to hold one of the great
offices of state,
but the terrible events
of this week
have made it impossible for me
to continue.
I believe this situation has been
mismanaged from the start.
JOURNALIST: Some might say you
contributed to the situation
with your incendiary rhetoric
about People's Justice.
I make no apologies
for listening to the legitimate
concerns of ordinary British people.
And I certainly do not believe
they should have been met
with bullets and special tribunals.
There are rumours that you and
your supporters will abstain
in the forthcoming confidence vote.
That remains to be seen.
All options are open.
I'm sorry, do you mean you could
even vote against the government?
All options are open.
(JOURNALISTS CLAMOUR)
Thank you. Rob, at the back.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Good morning, everyone.
ALL: Good morning.
The Home Secretary will not
be joining us today.
In his absence,
I will chair the meeting.
The soldier who was burned by
the white phosphorous grenade
has just died.
We have made six arrests
from a neo-Nazi group
that infiltrated People's Justice,
who are believed to have contributed
to most of the violence.
They will appear before special
tribunals tomorrow morning.
We should throw the book
at those bastards.
Any word back yet from ballistics?
So far we only have evidence
of soldiers discharging weapons.
Well, I authorised live ammunition.
I will take full responsibility.
Fraser, what's happening
with the transformer?
It was undamaged,
although a section of the rioters
did get dangerously close to the
trailer with petrol bombs.
It is now nearing the substation.
How long will it take to install?
I'll have engineers working on it
around the clock.
Well, I want every record smashed.
We get that thing working,
we can start to rebuild.
My team will be there until
the lights come back on.
Now, as you are all aware,
the opposition are putting down
a vote of no confidence
and there is speculation based on
a "senior Cabinet source" -
now an ex-Cabinet source -
that I might be forced to resign.
Now, let me be perfectly clear
about one thing.
I made a promise to the people
at that hospital
that I would turn the lights back on
and I intend to keep that promise.
We were faced with a situation
of outright insurgence
against the law of this country
and the basic rights of our people.
I will not resign.
(APPLAUSE)
(MOBILE PHONE CHIMES, VIBRATES)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Latest ComRes poll shows
that 42% of people believe
that it was the protestors
and not the government
that were responsible for what
happened. Not a majority.
Sizeable though, especially in
the immediate aftermath.
58% believe they were infiltrated
by the far-right. They were.
And 72% agree with the proposition
that civil liberties
should be restricted
in the case of a national emergency.
I'm about to join the list
of Prime Ministers
only ever remembered for one thing.
Not always a bad list.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(BABY CRYING)
(TELEPHONE RINGS)
SALLY: Gold Commander, come in.
Sally.
We're out of fuel. I don't think
the generator has long left.
(POWERING DOWN)
(SIGHS)
Yes, I do get that but the issue
is a bit more... (DOOR OPENS)
I am, of course, aware...
Hugh, you know,
I'll get back to you.
Got a bit of horse-trading going on
for Home Secretary.
Get yourself a constituency quick
and we can promote you.
I'm resigning too, Anna.
OK.
Four people are dead.
Five.
The soldier in hospital
just passed away.
Yvette Taylor was a young
photographer, she wasn't
even a rioter.
Yeah, and soldiers high on a mixture
of fear and adrenaline
clearly thought her camera
was a weapon.
The troops came under fire.
That has not been established
at all.
It's funny you have a little less
outrage about a 21-year-old soldier
with a wife and baby.
That's a cheap shot.
No, the cheap shot was throwing
a phosphorous grenade at him.
Do you think this hasn't caused the
Prime Minister sleepless nights -
Oh, admit it, he's all you bloody
care about, really, isn't he?
Your precious Prime Minister.
I do admit it, he is precious
when I look at the alternatives.
We were facing an insurrection
with a strong racist element.
Oh, don't do that. Why not?
Yeah, I knew I shouldn't have
taken this job in the first place.
Oh, come on.
Deep down I have always known
we have different values.
And mine don't include firing at
journalists and unarmed protestors.
Oh, do fuck off with your
sanctimonious whining. Excuse me?!
Take that to Twitter
and slap a hashtag on it.
You hawk your conscience around
when it suits you.
At least I have one to hawk.
You know the funny thing about you,
Anna, is you think your worldview
is beyond question.
Civilised society. Quiet governance.
The art of the possible.
All goes out of the window when your
interests are threatened, though.
And you never once stop to think
about how it's all shaped
because of your privilege
and your wealth. I think about it
all the bloody time!
But it was also shaped,
and very specifically,
by going into the town of Vukovar
after the collapse of civilised
society. Oh, give it up
with bloody Yugoslavia -
it was 30 years ago.
There is no statute of limitations!
God, I wouldn't have thought
I'd need to say that...
to you of all people.
Me of all people?
Oh, for f...
What the fuck does that mean?
Whatever you want it to mean.
Well, thank you for your job offer
to be a fig leaf for your party
and its overt
and sometimes not overt racism.
(SECURITY PASS CLATTERS)
I'm going to clear my desk.
You're gonna need that to get out,
you idiot.
(DOOR SLAMS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
I haven't got long, Archie,
what's this about?
No need for that tone, Robert,
I come here in a spirit
of compromise.
I know I resigned,
but I am here to assure you of my
support in the confidence vote.
Why?
I don't think it's the right time
for a change of leader.
Anyway, the offer stands.
What's the catch? No catch.
Of course there's a catch.
A small symbolic gesture
would be nice.
Just to make me feel...appreciated.
Go on.
I understand Francine Bridge
has just resigned,
so there's space in the policy unit
for a reformed character.
Dominic Knight.
Everybody deserves a second chance.
He can't work with Anna,
you know that.
I do know that.
You like it here, Robert.
Everybody does.
Nobody wants to leave,
especially such a short time
into their term of office.
You have such hopes
of reforming the country,
maybe even dipping a finger
into the great honeypot
of social care reform. (CHUCKLES)
It's all I ask.
It's a very small price to pay
to stay in Number 10.
You're quite right.
Are you going to make a move Archie?
STEPH: Er, we've reached that
elevated stretch of road
we were concerned about, but the
engineers won't give the go ahead.
FRASER: They're being too cautious.
I'll give the go ahead.
What's the next best route?
There is another way, but it
would be at least another two days.
Is it the weight limit?
Yep.
Bollocks!
I thought we had all this sorted,
Stephanie. Yeah we thought so too,
but it seems like
the engineers miscalculated
the camber or something.
The engineers are now saying
there is a 40-50% chance
the bridge will collapse.
Oh, top data, guys.
And the driver's heard the risk
assessment and he doesn't want
to be Flat Stanley so...
Ah. We can't just leave it there,
not after all we've been through.
Fuck!
He's really not going to like this.
You there, Fraser? Is it sorted?
Listen, we've hit a bit of a snag.
We decided to push on
in spite of the risks,
but the driver's refusing to...
Get another driver.
Yeah.
That's the plan.
(THUNDER RUMBLES)
Hello?
Who's that?
It's Stephanie Lodge from
the Civil Contingencies -
Put Fraser back on.
Er, I can't.
Put Fraser back on!
I'm sorry, Prime Minister, it's...
Stop stammering
and tell me what the fuck
is going on there.
(THUNDER RUMBLES)
It's Anna Marshall.
You're doing a great job there,
Stephanie.
What's actually happening now?
He's going to drive the trailer
himself.
(ENGINE STARTS)
(GEAR GRINDS)
Come on, come on.
What's happening?
Yeah, he's moving.
Has he ever driven a...?
Not to my knowledge, no.
(CHUCKLES)
(CREAKING)
He's halfway.
(GASPS)
It's going to collapse.
It's going down...
The bridge can't take it.
He's stopped.
(CREAKING)
What are you doing?
What are you doing?
ENGINEER: Get out of there!
The bridge is collapsing!
OK, he's moving again.
Almost made it but the bridge
isn't holding.
Front wheels clearing.
Wheels have cleared,
he's almost there.
Rear wheels clear. You're there!
Well done! It's OK.
He's made it.
He's made it, he got it through.
Thanks. Thank you, Stephanie.
Yes.
Please tell Fraser...thanks.
(EXHALES, CHUCKLES)
So it is absolutely clear now
that they were using the flat of
a British MP to set up a drugs deal.
And the twist is the heroin
wasn't being offered for cash.
A hit.
On a dissident called Murat Tayfaral
whom they were hoping to lure out
by using the flat
to establish credentials.
To be carried out by Nico.
It's not him. I just...
I cannot believe...
He had a gun.
And he used it to save my daughter.
Who in her debrief
said that she heard them call him
by that name.
What now?
Now he is between a rock
and a hard place.
I am hoping that he sees sense
and chooses the rock
on which I am perched
like a particularly
beguiling mermaid.
You're omitting one fairly important
detail about mermaids and sailors.
What are you offering him?
A deal,
by which he gives up everything
he knows about Toni Lulin
and his networks with the Turks and
the Chinese operating the Balkans.
That will get him a new identity
and our protection.
Or...
We send him back
to where he comes from.
Which will mean...
They will kill him, Eleanor.
He used you, Anna.
But either way...
he's gone.
That was the back-up generator.
Bloody People's Justice went off
with the other one.
All pumps and ventilators
have failed
and all emergency surgery
has been suspended.
Look, we have no more generators
capable of
keeping this place running
that we can get here in time.
They've just done an emergency
tracheostomy on a 14-year-old.
He's still critical.
How long until the transformer
is up and running?
There was a delay getting it here.
They're already under
intense pressure.
I can't risk...
I'll find out.
(EXHALES, INHALES SHARPLY)
Dad in his study?
He's packing.
Does this mean you'll stay here now?
Yeah. While Dad's away, for sure.
Why did you go to the flat
in the first place?
I wanted you to come home.
I thought if I just talked
to you then...
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACH)
(BAG DROPS)
Cab is due any minute.
OK.
I saw you're facing a vote
of no confidence.
I guess a lot depends
on Archie, then.
Everything depends on that.
Good luck with that.
Safe journey.
Yeah, better head. Bye, darling.
Bye, Dad.
Bye.
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
He had a nice face.
What's going to happen to him now?
I don't know.
Mm.
DOMINIC: Now's the time to strike.
I don't have the support for
a leadership challenge.
Besides it is not an optimum time.
Who wants to deal with this mess?
Then...
More than one way to skin a cat.
The critical thing is
to get rid of her.
Without her hand up his arse,
he's just a Poundshop Sooty.
Sack Anna to stay in power?
Yes. I can't do that.
You have to take it or it's a
general election and the next guests
at this table will be Hezbollah.
Anna is a symbol.
Of who runs things.
Everyone will see it that way.
Who gives a shit how people see it?
You are fighting for
your life here, Rob.
You're quite right.
Are you going to make a move Archie?
(SIRENS WAIL IN DISTANCE)
Your Edin is smart,
stubborn and rude -
all qualities I admire.
Plus, he's a handsome fucker.
Even I'd be tempted if I didn't have
a lovely wife at home.
Do you mind if I give you
some advice?
Get clear of Robert Sutherland
or you'll go under
with the sinking ship.
Save it for the rats.
Archie has demanded that
Sutherland sack you
in return for his support
in the confidence vote.
He won't do it.
Giving in to blackmail only makes
you a prisoner of your blackmailer
and he could never accept that.
What?
You don't get to be Prime Minister
without that little extra something.
That little extra something being
an unquenchable thirst
for the top job.
You can't want him out, as well.
Who else would have handled
this crisis as he has?
My previous concerns about him
were alleviated slightly
by his decisiveness
at the barricades,
I'll grant you that.
And what were your previous
concerns?
Oh, I'll save those for now.
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
(ENGINE STARTS)
ARCHIE: It's your only hope.
I even suggested he replace
Anna with you.
Best not say what his answer was.
I never told Ellie to lie
to the police.
Not, you know, as such. Explicitly.
Great. But Rachel did.
And the PM knew about that?
He tried to turn the other way
especially when Anna was in the room
which, as you know,
is pretty much always.
So Rachel coached Ellie
and the PM knew what was going on.
Of course he knew.
Rachel Sutherland said
posh white girls
shouldn't go to prison.
OK. That's...volcanic.
I was shocked.
Of course you were, Captain Renault.
When are you going to run this?
Just before the confidence vote.
Give you time to draft
your resignation letter.
ANNA: I assume you'll be
monitoring the conversation?
ELEANOR: You assume correctly.
(CAR DOOR OPENS)
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
He won't do it.
What happened to you, Edin?
The war happened. Oh, please.
It's not an excuse.
It's a fact.
You kill people.
(SIGHS)
Tess says you saved her life.
I could not stand by and...
watch them hurt your daughter.
Thank you for that.
I appreciate it has...
brought you considerable problems.
Like the annoying Welsh woman.
(LAUGHS)
She's not so bad, really.
You get used to her.
Nothing else I told you...
was a lie.
Take the offer. No. Why not?
I won't live like that.
At least it is living.
I will resolve matters back home,
trust me.
Then I will go to my house
on the mountainside
and I'll sit under the fig trees
among the butterflies,
and I will wait for you to come.
Don't go back.
I have no choice now.
Life is just moments, Anna.
And ours have been such good ones.
I love you.
I have always loved you.
(SNIFFLES)
(MOBILE PHONE CHIMES)
VOICEMAIL: You have one new message.
ARCHIE: Tick-tock, Robert.
Not long now until
the confidence vote.
I'd like an answer on those
personnel changes we discussed.
The ball's in your court.
You know where to find me.
(MOBILE PHONE RINGS)
It's all over the Internet, Mum.
It's literally everywhere.
Ellie, stop looking at them.
Rich white girls don't belong
in prison.
I didn't even say that.
I said they "fare badly". Ugh.
And the context was entirely
different. I was being ironic.
God, I wish I hadn't listened
to you and Peter.
Well, I wish you hadn't served
Class A drugs.
Then I wouldn't be looking at
a prison sentence myself.
Oh, God, Ellie, sorry.
Look, of course it's not
going to come to that.
Whatever Peter says,
it's just gonna look like
he's just trying to save his own
skin. Do you know what I wish, Mum?
I just wish Georgia was still alive.
(FOOTSTEPS)
Peter turned.
We'll get through it.
(GIRLS SPEAK INDISTINCTLY)
(GIRLS LAUGH)
(GIRLS SCREAM)
(EXHALES, SNIFFLES)
(EXHALES)
(LIQUID POURS)
Should I go and talk to her,
do you think?
I don't know.
Maybe just let her sleep.
I'll go.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Ellie.
Oh.
(CRIES)
You can shut them out, you know?
I can't, Dad, I can't.
Sweetheart, it's going to feel
all right in the morning.
No, it's worse.
Every single morning, Dad,
it's worse.
(CRIES)
Change of sleeping plans.
We're gonna make like
those times in Nairn.
Do you remember that?
Remember those holidays?
You were about four years old...
..and got lost on the beach
and you were crying because
you couldn't find us
and we were there the whole time.
We were right there.
We were right beside you.
(SNIFFLES)
And we had digestive biscuits
for breakfast...
..from a red packet.
It was just the three of us
in that one room.
You remember that?
Because I remember that.
They were the happiest days
of my life.
We're here for you, sweetheart.
There's nobody but us now.
(CRIES GENTLY)
You're quite right.
Are you going to make a move Archie?
I literally cannot wait until I see
her smug little face again.
(CHUCKLES)
(DOOR OPENS)
Thank you so much for coming,
Dominic.
I felt it was important
that we cleared the air.
Thank you, Prime Minister.
Now, I assume you're aware
that your return to Number 10
was contingent upon
Archie supporting me
in the forthcoming confidence vote.
Well, not in so many...
Of course he knows.
Of course he does.
It works for everyone, doesn't it?
No-one is irreplaceable.
An excellent summary.
Good. Coffee's here.
How do you take yours, Dominic?
White, no sugar.
Do you?
(SPOON STIRRING)
(STIRRING CONTINUES)
Do you, indeed?
I don't understand.
He brought us all the way here
just to tell us to go
fuck ourselves.
An excellent summary.
Better call the removal men, Robert.
You can bring me down, Archie.
But you will never take my place.
You've always tried
to exploit this crisis
for your own shitty ends, not caring
who gets hurt along the way.
And that is the worst kind
of politician in my book.
So if you two want coffee,
you can leave by the door
you came through
and fuck off to Starbucks.
FRASER: OK, we're ready
to give this a go.
But this is a first test, OK?
I'm not promising anything.
OK, stand by.
You OK?
I'm fine.
Eleanor James says you're going
to sack me to save your career.
I'm not.
That's what I thought.
Make Parminder Home Secretary.
That's what I thought.
(CHUCKLES LIGHTLY)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
JAMES: I think it's too soon.
The data isn't clear enough.
I should have given them more time.
I've rushed this.
They needed to run the final tests.
Oh, God.
Oh.
Er... Wha...
Is it... Are the police coming?
What did he say?
OK, things are going to be
a bit wobbly at first,
but, ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased to report
that power to the Red Zone
has just been restored.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING CONTINUES)
You did it, Fraser!
You fucking did it.
You put the lights back on!
You kept your promise.
Yes, I did.
I don't care about the confidence
vote anymore.
This is all that matters.
(LAUGHS)
Fuck off to Starbucks?
Well, I would have been
Prime Minister in name only.
And he would have made sure
everyone knew it.
Plus, there's your undying
loyalty to me.
Well, there's that, obviously.
Do you know what would be handy?
If you could dig up a tape of Archie,
in a brothel,
dressed as an SS officer.
He'd probably put that on Instagram.
Yeah, should be something he'd be
ashamed of, I guess. (CHUCKLES)
Lights back on,
he thinks it's all over.
Don't look now but his numbers
are steadily climbing.
Let's see what happens when
it's proved he lied to parliament,
and his wife thinks
she can escape justice
because she is rich and white.
Your strategy for getting
rid of Anna Marshall
didn't go so well, did it?
Plan B then.
Run it past me,
just for my amusement.
Ensure the tabloids know
she likes cavorting
with drug dealers and assassins.
Not an option, don't go there.
Why the hell have you always
got her back?
Because she is a graceful soprano
in a world of hairy-arsed baritones.
Pure as a little bell.
Unlike me you mean.
Oh, Archie, I love you dearly,
but you're as pure
as my dog's bowels
after it devoured the Christmas
cheese selection.
Now, while Team Sutherland
don't know where the bodies
are buried I certainly do,
so the question I'd be asking
myself right now is this -
do I want to fall out with Eleanor?
I hear they're lining up
Parminder Haigh to replace you.
Course they bloody are.
Well, I hope she enjoys her week
in the Home Office
before Her Majesty is forced
to choose a new Prime Minister.
You know what they say about
a week in politics.
Fuck the confidence vote.
I'm going to the country anyway.
If they want an election,
I'll give them one and I'll win.
The small matter of the fixed term
parliaments act...
Then I'll abstain from
the confidence vote.
I think the Chief Whip'd have
something to say about that.
Fuck the Chief Whip.
You cannot just ask people
to judge you
on how you've handled the crisis.
You have to offer something new,
something positive.
So you're my Chief of Staff.
Make a break with the past.
Announce a wealth tax.
What?!
Listen - You are joking,
we're still the Conservative Party.
Announce a wealth tax to fund
a solidarity scheme
for victims of the storm.
People with gold taps
on their yachts can afford it.
Say we are going to do things
differently now.
Support diversity without being
a box-ticking opportunist.
Be presidential, as you have been
all through this crisis.
Then you can win.
You're right.
We can't go back
to the way things were.
NEWS REPORTER:
Francine Bridge has hinted
that she might be open to a return
to parliamentary politics.
FRANCINE: I remain a mainstream
social democrat whose core beliefs
are fighting poverty and injustice
through progressive reform.
There must surely be a party around
that represents such values
in these chaotic
and dangerous times.
Good morning, everyone.
ALL: Good morning.
Our new Home Secretary
Parminder Haigh
will be chairing the meeting.
Welcome, Parminder.
Now, today will be
our last daily COBRA,
and I just wanted to thank you all
for your tremendous efforts.
These last weeks have been horrendous
and have led to both
agonising decisions
and terrible outcomes.
People have died.
I have been guided at all times
by what I believe
to be the national interest.
Now, as you are aware,
there is a confidence vote this week.
That vote is now irrelevant.
I intend to call a general election
and let the people pass judgement on
our handling of this crisis.
A crisis that has cost so much
and whose consequences
will be felt for years.
Who do they trust to lead us
through this difficult period
that lies ahead?
Fraser, I understand you have
an update on the Red Zone.
So, we still have some voltage
instability in the Red Zone,
but the other zones are now
fully operational.
(APPLAUSE)