The Accident (2019): Season 1, Episode 3 - The Accident - full transcript
They've killed our children, and we
need to be loud.
I'm just here to offer my
assistance. Oh, you're a lawyer.
Got it. Official complaint.
We should use it first.
If you're talking about a leak,
it'll be traced back to us.
Tell me what you're scared of.
Do you know something?
Are you helping someone
hide something?
Why is the steel not
to specification?
At no point did I say,
"Supply with me lesser-value steel."
Those kids were alive after
the explosion.
The thing that cost them their lives
was the building collapse,
and buildings shouldn't
collapse like that.
This programme contains very
strong language
and scenes that some viewers may
find distressing,
including some sexual scenes.
SHE SIGHS
Oh. You go.
No. No, no, no.
I'd rather jump out of the window.
You've got the busy day, I don't.
Apologies for the boxers.
No need. You've a nice pair of legs
on you.
You cannot be late for a
bloody inquest.
Not this morning.
Sure.
She's breathing without assistance,
she's eating solid food,
and her pelvis is weak,
but seems to have re-grafted OK.
I suspect the spinal damage
is permanent.
She still can't speak properly.
No. But it's returning, slowly.
We think she can come home
this week.
No. No. She should stay here
until she's better.
Polly... You've got all the
equipment here.
If there's an emergency...
You're ready. I promise.
W-w-what?
You both look terrified.
Am I dying?
No, love. No.
You're coming home.
It's good. We're getting her back.
Ready to have her home now, are you?
Well, we've got a few days,
get the place shipshape,
and to get the inquest
out of the way.
That's what's got you het up,
is it? The inquest?
What's that ambulance-chasing
lawyer been telling you?
Whatever it is Pol, let it out.
Philip says the police are looking
to see what they can see
and if enough isn't there, they'll
just chuck us in the long grass.
Yeah, well, Philip isn't the oracle.
I don't trust that man as far as I
can throw him.
The police will do their job.
You'll see.
I cannot be late, you understand?
The sat nav took me to the
wrong place. Shit.
REPORTERS SHOUT QUESTIONS
It's OK.
INDISTINCT CHATTER
Hello.
How many lawyers have Kallbridge
brought with them?
Yeah, they're well armed.
And Alan?
Well, his insurance company have
descended from on high.
They're the ones you see
surrounding young Debbie.
She doesn't look happy.
Don't look at her,
look at the woman sat beside the man
in the orange shirt.
She works for the
Crown Prosecution Service,
and she's the one who decides if
there's strong enough
public interest for a
criminal inquiry.
If this goes well, the CPS will have
no choice but to proceed.
If we're worthy of their time.
The key question, one all the
legals will be asking all the time,
is culpability. It's not who
killed your kids,
it's what percentage of something
killed your kids.
Yeah, well, we've always
understood that much.
Your kids broke in. Well, if they
hadn't, they wouldn't have died.
Sorry to be blunt. That's, say,
30% of the blame.
They fiddled with equipment,
that's 20% of the blame.
The equipment was poorly
stored, in the wrong place.
That's Alan. Give that 20%.
That's 70% already gone.
And Kallbridge takes
no responsibility
for the equipment storage, because
Alan Kethin
was an independent contractor.
Independent twat.
So, we've only 30%
left to kick them.
30% they have to be
wholly responsible for.
It's a lot to prove.
It true your Iwan is
giving evidence?
It's just about what the council
was inspecting.
OK.
No, no - not that kind of court.
Sit down.
My name is Ken Percival,
and I'm here to try and help make
sense of this terrible tragedy.
The purpose of this inquest is
fact finding, not fault finding.
All interested persons are entitled
and encouraged
to ask questions here.
DOOR OPENS
It is my job to examine the who,
where, when,
and, crucially, the how,
and your job to make sure I've heard
everything I need to hear.
This is your inquest
as much as mine.
I was the first
officer on the scene.
And how soon after
the accident was this?
Nine, ten minutes.
As soon as I was aware there
were people inside,
I called for the rescue team.
The abdomen was heavily bruised.
Emergency CT revealed a large
peritoneal collection of blood
and trauma to the liver and
left kidney.
A catheter drained two hundred mills
of heavily blood-stained urine.
At 15.30, she went into
ventricular fibrillation.
She was immediately shocked
but then became asystolic.
ANGELA SOBS
The decision was made to abandon
further resuscitation attempts,
and she was pronounced dead.
May I ask, were
the bulk of these injuries
sustained during the explosion
or during the building collapse?
If I was speculating,
I'd say the vast majority of her
injuries were crush related.
And the fact that she was able to
shout to her friend before
the collapse would suggest she was
fully conscious at that point.
What did you do? What did you do to
my daughter?
I entirely understand how
hard it must be.
No. You have no fucking idea!
But if you could sit down, it'd make
proceedings easier.
Someone in this room
killed my daughter...
And that's what we're here
finding out.
Sit down. Sit down.
So, err, just to be clear,
in your medical opinion
she was killed by the collapse,
not the explosion...
That's correct.
Thank you.
I run building regulations
and inspection for the council.
You've submitted a lot of documents
to me, Mr Barker.
I like to be thorough.
In your opinion, were there any
discrepancies between
what you inspected and what
was submitted
in the designs for this build?
None whatsoever.
As leader of the council, there's
a lot that I'm across,
but this was one of my
projects, yes.
And you were supportive
of the development, Mr Bevan?
Very. It's important to get
Glyngolau working again.
You need the employment.
And the business rates.
The business rates are about all we
get as a council.
Well, trouble with Glyngolau is
there's no businesses,
so every month passes we're eating
into reserves.
Approaching bankruptcy, if
I'm honest.
So, it was a passion of yours,
this project?
And getting Kallbridge's support was
hugely important for you?
I can't lie to you, it was, yeah.
Did you do due diligence on them
as a company?
Of course I did.
Did they coerce or entice
you in any way?
Check my bank balance, friend.
I'm too poor to be corrupt.
And once they were on site, you
regularly inspected and performed?
Of course we did. We've submitted...
We've submitted this.
Everything was done thoroughly
and by the book.
There you go.
There was... There was something
about him, your Iwan.
No. There's nothing, Ange.
There's no need to be defensive.
I'm not defensive.
You sound like you did when you were
trying to get off PE at school.
Well, I hated PE and I hate this.
DOOR OPENS
IWAN SINGS
One turned into a few.
Craig was, erm...
Felt like he'd had his nads out in
public, you know, Pol?
Poor Craig, eh? Mm.
Makes you feel guilty, these things,
without you actually being guilty.
Right. I'm a bit emotional.
Probably time for a kip
to, err, right things.
Your guard dog's here,
check you're all right.
I'm fine, Martin. Go to bed.
See you in the morning. Yeah.
Bit of a weight off, right?
That it wasn't harder.
You thought they'd skewer you.
They didn't.
You think I went for a drink
because I was relieved?
I don't think you need
an excuse for a drink.
Hearing that Doctor talk
about Mia...
..was the hardest thing I've ever
heard in my life.
Made me realise what I have.
Made me realise a lot.
Didn't stop you getting
another pint.
Hm? Hm?
HE SIGHS
No.
Maybe it should have.
Well...bed.
I love her and I love you.
And I'm going to live up to that,
you'll see.
I am a Senior Vice President
at Kallbridge.
And this was your project?
I was managing it on behalf of
Kallbridge, yes.
Is it right you take full
financial responsibility
until the work is completed?
Yes, it's a forward-funded project.
You are fully financially implicated
until your Japanese client was
satisfied with the work?
Yes, that's right.
And this was proving quite
an expensive build.
It was behind schedule, and you have
a problematic relationship
with your site manager, Alan Kethin.
So, you looked for
savings elsewhere.
That's my job.
And you pushed your supplier
quite hard to get them
to provide you with cheaper steel -
30% according to reports.
Yes. We've looked into
that thoroughly.
Our paperwork makes clear that we
expected the steel
to be of equivalent quality.
Unfortunately, that matter has to be
taken up with the steel company.
They're claiming different.
Then they need to see the paperwork,
as do you.
The steel had entirely
the correct certification.
So... So, you're not responsible?
Morally, I am. Morally, it
was my responsibility as leader,
but the facts are, I'm afraid, I
simply wasn't aware.
I hired Alan Kethin in good faith,
I hired the steel company in
good faith.
I was wrong to, and I cannot forgive
myself for those facts.
Good, because I can't forgive
you for any of this.
Angela, perhaps it'd be best...
No. No, no, no.
She's making a fool of the lot
of you.
Excuse me.
Excuse me, madam. Oh.
Do you want to go with her?
Will you fuck off?
She's fine on her own.
These e-mails to Alan Kethin
were increasingly angry outbursts
about what his speed was costing
the company. Other companies were
being queued behind him,
other companies were being brought
in early, causing overlap problems.
I think I was always on the right
side of civility.
You're a very polished performer.
I'm actually very nervous.
I want to make sure to tell
the truth here.
Do you have any sense of how
these e-mails
to Alan Kethin about the gas
canisters were leaked to the press?
No sense at all.
So, if I were to tell you that there
were means of proving this leak
to the press came from inside
your office...?
Relevance? A concerted campaign by a
large industrial group
to reapportion blame. I believe this
has relevance.
It does.
I have no idea how the
e-mails came out,
and they were nothing to do with me.
Nothing at all.
CHANTING: Kids before profits!
Kids before profits!
CHANTING: Kids before profits!
Kids before cash!
Kids before profits!
Kids before cash!
Kids before profits!
Kids before cash!
No comment.
How can you sleep at night?
They're here.
Are you OK?
And these e-mails that were
leaked from here.
Are you investigating that?
Yes, we are investigating that too.
You understand there is a limit
where embarrassment is concerned
for my firm. If there are
further issues
then we may have further issues.
We are investigating the leak, but
honestly, that's just one employee
in a very large organisation.
Now, as for the other matter,
the steel thing is a nonsense.
They have nothing, we are
hiding nothing.
LIFT BELL RINGS
Fucking arsehole.
He speaks perfect English,
always has done,
but still the meeting have to
start in Japanese.
How close would you say we are
to losing them?
For future business?
I'd say we'd have to fight hard
to get them back.
And for the businesses we have now?
Contracts are watertight.
Hmm.
I hope you're right.
Hello.
It's still the same house. It's only
a few adjustments to make it easier.
They're... They're staring.
Course they are.
So you can tell them to fuck off
like you always used to.
Don't look so scared now, Keriat.
APPLAUSE
You see? Everyone's
so happy to have you back.
LAUGHTER
I asked for that, didn't I?
I got this.
No, Iwan, I'm not sure...
Hey, there's three of us here.
Let's get her settled at least...
Let's get started as we mean
to go on. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Thanks ever so much.
There we are.
What you having, Leona? Do you want
tea or something harder?
Oh, Iwan.
I know. It won't work with
the drugs.
I was only joking. She knows that
and I know that.
Can of pop and a bap, then,
is it? For all of us.
My mother wants to meet you.
SHE CHOKES
Wow. Wrong way to bring that up?
Erm, it's not going to happen.
She knows how old you are.
I haven't told her anything
other than that.
You just said, "Mum, I've got
a girlfriend, she's ancient."
I said you were kind. I said we
worked together.
She'd really like to meet you.
KNOCK ON DOOR
We need the room.
Shut the door on your way out, Tim.
It wouldn't hurt you to be a tiny
bit more polite.
The press are all over these leaks.
We're trending on Twitter again.
I hadn't noticed.
Well, our board has.
Was it the boy?
It was the boy who leaked. Right?
Now, Laura's prepared a statement,
we're gonna release it.
Your gonna say that, err...
He didn't know any better.
Please don't give them his name.
Oh, we're gonna go way
further than that.
We're going to say that what he did,
he did as a result
of his infatuation with you.
Sorry? Well, you've hardly
been discrete.
And it is strictly
against company policy.
You're a cunt.
If it just comes out this was a leak
from your assistant,
then the matter will come straight
back to you.
So, we're going to say - or, rather,
you're going to say -
this was a leak from your assistant
and your lover.
No. Do you realise how bad
this could get?
We have crap steel that nobody wants
to accept responsibility for,
we have a massive fine coming down
the track,
and we have the CPS
breathing down our neck!
Now, if you don't do this, we're
gonna pin the whole thing on you.
Now, the damage to you,
dishonourable conduct, no pension,
no pay, and a possible
jail sentence,
because we won't be protecting
you from the police.
So, this is what we want you to say.
And when they come for me?
What then?
We won't hurt you
unless we absolutely have to.
I need to think about this.
Oh. Hello. A delegation.
Is Iwan in?
No, he's taken Leona to physio.
What's going on?
CPS have come back.
They're canning it.
What? There's going to be
no criminal investigation.
Can we come in?
I got some Jaffa Cakes too.
Oh, lovely.
The steel company are saying,
"It wasn't us, we supplied
what we were asked for,"
and they're saying we asked
for what it says we asked for.
Seemingly there's
nothing in writing.
Someone fucked someone,
but no-one can find the dick.
In cases like this...
Everyone gets off scot-free.
Well, there'll be substantial fines
but the evidence threshold
for criminal charges is high.
They'd need to prove that Harriet
knew that the steel was inadequate
and she continued to use it anyway.
Or that the steel company knew that
the steel they were using,
was being used for a thing that they
shouldn't be using it for.
And they're saying they had no idea.
The case is fucked. It's dead.
The HSE are going to prosecute.
The fines will be large,
but they'll just be fines.
And that is not good enough.
We're facing two simple options.
We give up. We fight on.
And how do we fight on?
A private prosecution.
We lead the case ourselves against
the person who was leading
the build for Kallbridge,
Harriet Paulsen.
I've never even heard
of a private prosecution.
Get her in front of a jury,
amass a little more evidence.
Yeah, and they can still
get jail time.
Every charge can still stick.
So, why wouldn't we do that?
One, it'll take money.
Two, it'll take a shitload of luck.
We'd be chancing it.
I think I can get it into court
with the evidence we already have,
but we'll need more than we've got
to get a conviction,
but we'll have time to dig,
and we can have our day.
How much money?
Half a million. Give or take.
Oh, Ange. What?
Your husband's on the dole,
if you didn't remember.
I've got a job. I'm not sure you'll
raise the necessary in the Co-op.
You're better than that.
And Iwan is...
Iwan has his council allowances.
We're on our knees and you know it.
We'll do some of that
crowd-funding, we thought.
Plus there's our houses.
Do you get paid?
Do you get paid from this half
a million quid, Philip?
A small amount, survival money.
The bulk is taken by barristers.
We need good ones,
they aren't cheap.
I will try to keep costs
down as much as I can.
And if you can't,
we lose our houses.
We can win, Polly. We can do this,
and we have to.
For our kids.
Which brings me
onto the digging part.
You see,
the police have to obey the law
but we can switch things up
in a way they can't
to get the evidence we need,
which is she knew the steel
was inadequate.
So, which law do you intend
to break?
CLEARS THROAT
Do you use your husband's computer?
Yes. Good.
Then it's technically not stealing.
We need the hard drive.
We need you to use this
to get it from him.
This isn't a friendly discussion,
is it? It's a hijacking.
And here was I thinking I was
the girl you preferred, Philip?
Are you two now a double act?
He's helping us win the case, Pol.
We don't know what he's doing.
An angel come on high to defend us.
I happen to be
passionate about this one.
Oh. Tell you to do one, did they?
Your kids broke the law.
Some of them had records.
No-one gives a shit about them.
Well, I know what it is to be
one of those kids.
He sounds rehearsed to me.
Does he to you, Ange?
No, no. He sounds like
he gives a shit.
Where do you stand, Polly?
You're asking me
to risk my marriage.
Some fucking marriage.
It's all I've got.
I've lost all I had.
I've got a fat husband
who can't get any work,
I've got a fat son who
sits on my sofa all day,
and my beautiful, beautiful daughter
is six feet in the fucking ground.
Angela, you can't just ask people...
I can, I can. No, you can't...
I can, I have to.
And you don't understand.
Leona, she led them in and she
got out and now you...
you don't even... Enough!
You don't even want to...
Enough. That's enough.
No-one is saying Iwan did
anything wrong,
we're just saying there's
a possibility he might be
involved in e-mail chains, which can
shed light on all the matters.
The police won't ask
for his hard drive,
not without more evidence
than they have.
Polly.
SNIFFS
I still want to know
who I can blame.
Why don't you?
I've been trying to work out
what news you'd want to hear about.
I've been thinking I should Google,
but then I went on Google
and I realised I didn't have a clue.
I Googled your Justin Bieber.
Well, I'm pretty sure you're not
into him any more. N-n-no.
No. He's had quite a hard time
recently, I think.
I Googled Beyonce,
she seems very political now.
Still impressive, though. I looked
up a lot of stuff.
Nothing seemed particularly
interesting.
MOTOR HUMS
So, we'll start with the
undercover regions?
And then we'll give your
hair a nice wash.
I got you some new shampoo
from the Co-op.
DISTORTED SPEECH
THEY SHOUT
Let me! Let me! Let me!
No. No. No.
No, you're not doing that.
SHE SOBS
You're not doing that. No.
PHONE RINGS
Iwan's phone.
Hello? Hello.
Who is this?
I wasn't expecting to talk to you.
I thought I'd called his mobile.
Harriet?
How's your daughter?
Why are you calling Iwan?
This is a lot less nefarious
than you think it is.
And I'm so sorry anyone got hurt.
Was that my phone?
No.
PHONE RINGS
Do it.
Ready?
SCREAMS
SOBS
Hey. Hey. Leona.
Leona. You're OK. OK?
You OK?
SHE SNIFFS
You OK?
Bad dream, was it?
Hate those.
I've always, erm,
struggled with those myself.
Got to say, quite enjoying
the handicap stuff we've got now...
D-d-disabled. Yeah.
I'm most grateful for those handles
we've had to put in by the toilet.
I'm not being funny but I
increasingly don't have the knees
for getting down for the squat
and then back up again.
That's a g-g-genuinely muntin'
image.
Really? Let me give you
the proper details.
What I do is,
I lower the old trousers,
then the old nick nacks,
and then just sort of...
Shut up! Shut up!
I haven't been the best of dads.
But I'm trying to do better here,
on this one, right now.
I'm not asking you to forgive me.
Just work with me, OK?
No more t-t-toilet stories.
Scout's honour.
All right.
She's OK.
Coming back to bed?
No, I might just...
I can't really sleep.
Might just sit up, read a bit.
KNOCKING ON DOOR AND DOOR OPENS
How did you...?
Your kitchen door needs a new lock.
I'm not angry with you.
I know you were pressured into it.
I'd like to make a statement -
one declaring how I feel about you,
how much you mean to me,
how much we matter to each other.
The secretary never gets to speak.
I'd like to speak.
They call you a toy boy,
not a secretary.
Take your clothes off. Harriet.
All of them.
I want to see you.
I'm not taking my clothes off.
You broke into my house.
If I make a call,
the police will come.
I don't want to make that call.
Take your clothes off.
You have ruined me.
Finally he admits it.
Now take your fucking clothes off.
No.
I've ruined you already -
what harm can it do?
You always liked me looking at you.
All of them, I said.
HE BREATHES DEEPLY
HE INHALES
HE BREATHES DEEPLY
You, sir, are a work of art.
But if I can just tell them
that I love you.
I adore you, but I don't love you.
This is not about you.
This is about me. They're dismissing
me, they're making...
Can you stop doing that? I won't.
HE GASPS
You're my humiliation.
If you're going to do that, then I
want to touch you. You can't.
I really want to touch you.
HE GROANS
You look at me
with such wide adoring eyes.
Harriet, I don't want this.
And I adored you back.
But given a choice between saving
my own skin and saving yours...
I did the wrong thing. It was all
me. I...I didn't lie.
I deserved punishment.
Ah, ah!
I betrayed you.
My beautiful boy.
You were my boy.
My beautiful, beautiful boy.
And I'm so, so sorry.
I shouldn't have betrayed you.
They won't sue you, Kallbridge.
They could for breach of contract,
but they won't.
I've made sure of that.
You are fired, though.
This is the point where you say
something cutting and obnoxious.
I love you.
Go out the way you came in.
Make sure no-one sees you.
DOOR SLAMS
SHE SOBS
SHE GASPS
My lawyers called.
His lawyers, whatever they are.
They said there'll be a fine,
but no-one's going to jail.
Yeah.
They managed to push most of Alan's
liability onto Kallbridge.
But even so, there'll be some.
I'll lose everything in his name.
Oh.
So I wanted to give you this.
I managed to sell
some of his equipment on the QT to
one of his builder mates.
This is eight grand, Debbie.
You could get in trouble.
You're going to fight on, right?
That's what they said, the families
might launch a private prosecution.
We are. Well, use this.
The money's good.
It's your choice if you take it.
KNOCKING ON DOOR
Where's Angela?
I thought you two came in pairs.
I...I thought you might find it
easier talking to me.
What, you think I'd rather talk to
a lawyer than my best friend?
I'm not an ambulance
chaser or a fake.
That's just what an ambulance chaser
and a fake would say.
I felt like our last meeting went
badly.
We're just digging for one crucial
piece of information
and I think we will find it.
I think we can win this case.
Then you don't know round here very
well.
35 years ago, they closed the pit up
the road.
25, the steel plant.
We've been fighting for jobs ever
since, and got bloody nowhere.
This area loses. We've always lost.
Your long list of injustices,
your Hillsboroughs, your Aberfans -
one thing they've all got in
common - they involved
working-class people no-one really
gave a fuck about.
Even when a block burns down in one
of the richest bits of London,
because it's a working-class block,
no-one cares. Not really.
They give it lip service
and then they move on,
and we're THAT, Philip. We're them.
And the CPS have proved it,
and to keep fighting,
that only means more hurt,
and more heartbreak, because they'll
beat us again and this time,
they'll take our homes too.
So I surrender.
I say fuck it.
I say I'm done with
the damage of it all.
I'm a mother and a wife,
and all this - I can't do it.
I can't do it any more.
I'm out.
The defendant has been accused
of gross negligence manslaughter.
They've all taken on mortgages
they can't pay back to pay for this
trial.
This is my chance to say my bit
and do my bit.
And I want to get justice.
Don't you?
I just don't want you to get hurt.
This whole case is going to come
down to something quite specific -
who the jury wants to believe.
I've never lied about what I did.
Big day. Back on the stand. Do you
know what they're going to say?
Why would I know what
they're going to say?
They wanted me to take your computer
and I refused.
I need you, Polly. I need you too.
Only you chose the wrong side.
We're going to win.
We've an ace up our sleeve.
need to be loud.
I'm just here to offer my
assistance. Oh, you're a lawyer.
Got it. Official complaint.
We should use it first.
If you're talking about a leak,
it'll be traced back to us.
Tell me what you're scared of.
Do you know something?
Are you helping someone
hide something?
Why is the steel not
to specification?
At no point did I say,
"Supply with me lesser-value steel."
Those kids were alive after
the explosion.
The thing that cost them their lives
was the building collapse,
and buildings shouldn't
collapse like that.
This programme contains very
strong language
and scenes that some viewers may
find distressing,
including some sexual scenes.
SHE SIGHS
Oh. You go.
No. No, no, no.
I'd rather jump out of the window.
You've got the busy day, I don't.
Apologies for the boxers.
No need. You've a nice pair of legs
on you.
You cannot be late for a
bloody inquest.
Not this morning.
Sure.
She's breathing without assistance,
she's eating solid food,
and her pelvis is weak,
but seems to have re-grafted OK.
I suspect the spinal damage
is permanent.
She still can't speak properly.
No. But it's returning, slowly.
We think she can come home
this week.
No. No. She should stay here
until she's better.
Polly... You've got all the
equipment here.
If there's an emergency...
You're ready. I promise.
W-w-what?
You both look terrified.
Am I dying?
No, love. No.
You're coming home.
It's good. We're getting her back.
Ready to have her home now, are you?
Well, we've got a few days,
get the place shipshape,
and to get the inquest
out of the way.
That's what's got you het up,
is it? The inquest?
What's that ambulance-chasing
lawyer been telling you?
Whatever it is Pol, let it out.
Philip says the police are looking
to see what they can see
and if enough isn't there, they'll
just chuck us in the long grass.
Yeah, well, Philip isn't the oracle.
I don't trust that man as far as I
can throw him.
The police will do their job.
You'll see.
I cannot be late, you understand?
The sat nav took me to the
wrong place. Shit.
REPORTERS SHOUT QUESTIONS
It's OK.
INDISTINCT CHATTER
Hello.
How many lawyers have Kallbridge
brought with them?
Yeah, they're well armed.
And Alan?
Well, his insurance company have
descended from on high.
They're the ones you see
surrounding young Debbie.
She doesn't look happy.
Don't look at her,
look at the woman sat beside the man
in the orange shirt.
She works for the
Crown Prosecution Service,
and she's the one who decides if
there's strong enough
public interest for a
criminal inquiry.
If this goes well, the CPS will have
no choice but to proceed.
If we're worthy of their time.
The key question, one all the
legals will be asking all the time,
is culpability. It's not who
killed your kids,
it's what percentage of something
killed your kids.
Yeah, well, we've always
understood that much.
Your kids broke in. Well, if they
hadn't, they wouldn't have died.
Sorry to be blunt. That's, say,
30% of the blame.
They fiddled with equipment,
that's 20% of the blame.
The equipment was poorly
stored, in the wrong place.
That's Alan. Give that 20%.
That's 70% already gone.
And Kallbridge takes
no responsibility
for the equipment storage, because
Alan Kethin
was an independent contractor.
Independent twat.
So, we've only 30%
left to kick them.
30% they have to be
wholly responsible for.
It's a lot to prove.
It true your Iwan is
giving evidence?
It's just about what the council
was inspecting.
OK.
No, no - not that kind of court.
Sit down.
My name is Ken Percival,
and I'm here to try and help make
sense of this terrible tragedy.
The purpose of this inquest is
fact finding, not fault finding.
All interested persons are entitled
and encouraged
to ask questions here.
DOOR OPENS
It is my job to examine the who,
where, when,
and, crucially, the how,
and your job to make sure I've heard
everything I need to hear.
This is your inquest
as much as mine.
I was the first
officer on the scene.
And how soon after
the accident was this?
Nine, ten minutes.
As soon as I was aware there
were people inside,
I called for the rescue team.
The abdomen was heavily bruised.
Emergency CT revealed a large
peritoneal collection of blood
and trauma to the liver and
left kidney.
A catheter drained two hundred mills
of heavily blood-stained urine.
At 15.30, she went into
ventricular fibrillation.
She was immediately shocked
but then became asystolic.
ANGELA SOBS
The decision was made to abandon
further resuscitation attempts,
and she was pronounced dead.
May I ask, were
the bulk of these injuries
sustained during the explosion
or during the building collapse?
If I was speculating,
I'd say the vast majority of her
injuries were crush related.
And the fact that she was able to
shout to her friend before
the collapse would suggest she was
fully conscious at that point.
What did you do? What did you do to
my daughter?
I entirely understand how
hard it must be.
No. You have no fucking idea!
But if you could sit down, it'd make
proceedings easier.
Someone in this room
killed my daughter...
And that's what we're here
finding out.
Sit down. Sit down.
So, err, just to be clear,
in your medical opinion
she was killed by the collapse,
not the explosion...
That's correct.
Thank you.
I run building regulations
and inspection for the council.
You've submitted a lot of documents
to me, Mr Barker.
I like to be thorough.
In your opinion, were there any
discrepancies between
what you inspected and what
was submitted
in the designs for this build?
None whatsoever.
As leader of the council, there's
a lot that I'm across,
but this was one of my
projects, yes.
And you were supportive
of the development, Mr Bevan?
Very. It's important to get
Glyngolau working again.
You need the employment.
And the business rates.
The business rates are about all we
get as a council.
Well, trouble with Glyngolau is
there's no businesses,
so every month passes we're eating
into reserves.
Approaching bankruptcy, if
I'm honest.
So, it was a passion of yours,
this project?
And getting Kallbridge's support was
hugely important for you?
I can't lie to you, it was, yeah.
Did you do due diligence on them
as a company?
Of course I did.
Did they coerce or entice
you in any way?
Check my bank balance, friend.
I'm too poor to be corrupt.
And once they were on site, you
regularly inspected and performed?
Of course we did. We've submitted...
We've submitted this.
Everything was done thoroughly
and by the book.
There you go.
There was... There was something
about him, your Iwan.
No. There's nothing, Ange.
There's no need to be defensive.
I'm not defensive.
You sound like you did when you were
trying to get off PE at school.
Well, I hated PE and I hate this.
DOOR OPENS
IWAN SINGS
One turned into a few.
Craig was, erm...
Felt like he'd had his nads out in
public, you know, Pol?
Poor Craig, eh? Mm.
Makes you feel guilty, these things,
without you actually being guilty.
Right. I'm a bit emotional.
Probably time for a kip
to, err, right things.
Your guard dog's here,
check you're all right.
I'm fine, Martin. Go to bed.
See you in the morning. Yeah.
Bit of a weight off, right?
That it wasn't harder.
You thought they'd skewer you.
They didn't.
You think I went for a drink
because I was relieved?
I don't think you need
an excuse for a drink.
Hearing that Doctor talk
about Mia...
..was the hardest thing I've ever
heard in my life.
Made me realise what I have.
Made me realise a lot.
Didn't stop you getting
another pint.
Hm? Hm?
HE SIGHS
No.
Maybe it should have.
Well...bed.
I love her and I love you.
And I'm going to live up to that,
you'll see.
I am a Senior Vice President
at Kallbridge.
And this was your project?
I was managing it on behalf of
Kallbridge, yes.
Is it right you take full
financial responsibility
until the work is completed?
Yes, it's a forward-funded project.
You are fully financially implicated
until your Japanese client was
satisfied with the work?
Yes, that's right.
And this was proving quite
an expensive build.
It was behind schedule, and you have
a problematic relationship
with your site manager, Alan Kethin.
So, you looked for
savings elsewhere.
That's my job.
And you pushed your supplier
quite hard to get them
to provide you with cheaper steel -
30% according to reports.
Yes. We've looked into
that thoroughly.
Our paperwork makes clear that we
expected the steel
to be of equivalent quality.
Unfortunately, that matter has to be
taken up with the steel company.
They're claiming different.
Then they need to see the paperwork,
as do you.
The steel had entirely
the correct certification.
So... So, you're not responsible?
Morally, I am. Morally, it
was my responsibility as leader,
but the facts are, I'm afraid, I
simply wasn't aware.
I hired Alan Kethin in good faith,
I hired the steel company in
good faith.
I was wrong to, and I cannot forgive
myself for those facts.
Good, because I can't forgive
you for any of this.
Angela, perhaps it'd be best...
No. No, no, no.
She's making a fool of the lot
of you.
Excuse me.
Excuse me, madam. Oh.
Do you want to go with her?
Will you fuck off?
She's fine on her own.
These e-mails to Alan Kethin
were increasingly angry outbursts
about what his speed was costing
the company. Other companies were
being queued behind him,
other companies were being brought
in early, causing overlap problems.
I think I was always on the right
side of civility.
You're a very polished performer.
I'm actually very nervous.
I want to make sure to tell
the truth here.
Do you have any sense of how
these e-mails
to Alan Kethin about the gas
canisters were leaked to the press?
No sense at all.
So, if I were to tell you that there
were means of proving this leak
to the press came from inside
your office...?
Relevance? A concerted campaign by a
large industrial group
to reapportion blame. I believe this
has relevance.
It does.
I have no idea how the
e-mails came out,
and they were nothing to do with me.
Nothing at all.
CHANTING: Kids before profits!
Kids before profits!
CHANTING: Kids before profits!
Kids before cash!
Kids before profits!
Kids before cash!
Kids before profits!
Kids before cash!
No comment.
How can you sleep at night?
They're here.
Are you OK?
And these e-mails that were
leaked from here.
Are you investigating that?
Yes, we are investigating that too.
You understand there is a limit
where embarrassment is concerned
for my firm. If there are
further issues
then we may have further issues.
We are investigating the leak, but
honestly, that's just one employee
in a very large organisation.
Now, as for the other matter,
the steel thing is a nonsense.
They have nothing, we are
hiding nothing.
LIFT BELL RINGS
Fucking arsehole.
He speaks perfect English,
always has done,
but still the meeting have to
start in Japanese.
How close would you say we are
to losing them?
For future business?
I'd say we'd have to fight hard
to get them back.
And for the businesses we have now?
Contracts are watertight.
Hmm.
I hope you're right.
Hello.
It's still the same house. It's only
a few adjustments to make it easier.
They're... They're staring.
Course they are.
So you can tell them to fuck off
like you always used to.
Don't look so scared now, Keriat.
APPLAUSE
You see? Everyone's
so happy to have you back.
LAUGHTER
I asked for that, didn't I?
I got this.
No, Iwan, I'm not sure...
Hey, there's three of us here.
Let's get her settled at least...
Let's get started as we mean
to go on. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Thanks ever so much.
There we are.
What you having, Leona? Do you want
tea or something harder?
Oh, Iwan.
I know. It won't work with
the drugs.
I was only joking. She knows that
and I know that.
Can of pop and a bap, then,
is it? For all of us.
My mother wants to meet you.
SHE CHOKES
Wow. Wrong way to bring that up?
Erm, it's not going to happen.
She knows how old you are.
I haven't told her anything
other than that.
You just said, "Mum, I've got
a girlfriend, she's ancient."
I said you were kind. I said we
worked together.
She'd really like to meet you.
KNOCK ON DOOR
We need the room.
Shut the door on your way out, Tim.
It wouldn't hurt you to be a tiny
bit more polite.
The press are all over these leaks.
We're trending on Twitter again.
I hadn't noticed.
Well, our board has.
Was it the boy?
It was the boy who leaked. Right?
Now, Laura's prepared a statement,
we're gonna release it.
Your gonna say that, err...
He didn't know any better.
Please don't give them his name.
Oh, we're gonna go way
further than that.
We're going to say that what he did,
he did as a result
of his infatuation with you.
Sorry? Well, you've hardly
been discrete.
And it is strictly
against company policy.
You're a cunt.
If it just comes out this was a leak
from your assistant,
then the matter will come straight
back to you.
So, we're going to say - or, rather,
you're going to say -
this was a leak from your assistant
and your lover.
No. Do you realise how bad
this could get?
We have crap steel that nobody wants
to accept responsibility for,
we have a massive fine coming down
the track,
and we have the CPS
breathing down our neck!
Now, if you don't do this, we're
gonna pin the whole thing on you.
Now, the damage to you,
dishonourable conduct, no pension,
no pay, and a possible
jail sentence,
because we won't be protecting
you from the police.
So, this is what we want you to say.
And when they come for me?
What then?
We won't hurt you
unless we absolutely have to.
I need to think about this.
Oh. Hello. A delegation.
Is Iwan in?
No, he's taken Leona to physio.
What's going on?
CPS have come back.
They're canning it.
What? There's going to be
no criminal investigation.
Can we come in?
I got some Jaffa Cakes too.
Oh, lovely.
The steel company are saying,
"It wasn't us, we supplied
what we were asked for,"
and they're saying we asked
for what it says we asked for.
Seemingly there's
nothing in writing.
Someone fucked someone,
but no-one can find the dick.
In cases like this...
Everyone gets off scot-free.
Well, there'll be substantial fines
but the evidence threshold
for criminal charges is high.
They'd need to prove that Harriet
knew that the steel was inadequate
and she continued to use it anyway.
Or that the steel company knew that
the steel they were using,
was being used for a thing that they
shouldn't be using it for.
And they're saying they had no idea.
The case is fucked. It's dead.
The HSE are going to prosecute.
The fines will be large,
but they'll just be fines.
And that is not good enough.
We're facing two simple options.
We give up. We fight on.
And how do we fight on?
A private prosecution.
We lead the case ourselves against
the person who was leading
the build for Kallbridge,
Harriet Paulsen.
I've never even heard
of a private prosecution.
Get her in front of a jury,
amass a little more evidence.
Yeah, and they can still
get jail time.
Every charge can still stick.
So, why wouldn't we do that?
One, it'll take money.
Two, it'll take a shitload of luck.
We'd be chancing it.
I think I can get it into court
with the evidence we already have,
but we'll need more than we've got
to get a conviction,
but we'll have time to dig,
and we can have our day.
How much money?
Half a million. Give or take.
Oh, Ange. What?
Your husband's on the dole,
if you didn't remember.
I've got a job. I'm not sure you'll
raise the necessary in the Co-op.
You're better than that.
And Iwan is...
Iwan has his council allowances.
We're on our knees and you know it.
We'll do some of that
crowd-funding, we thought.
Plus there's our houses.
Do you get paid?
Do you get paid from this half
a million quid, Philip?
A small amount, survival money.
The bulk is taken by barristers.
We need good ones,
they aren't cheap.
I will try to keep costs
down as much as I can.
And if you can't,
we lose our houses.
We can win, Polly. We can do this,
and we have to.
For our kids.
Which brings me
onto the digging part.
You see,
the police have to obey the law
but we can switch things up
in a way they can't
to get the evidence we need,
which is she knew the steel
was inadequate.
So, which law do you intend
to break?
CLEARS THROAT
Do you use your husband's computer?
Yes. Good.
Then it's technically not stealing.
We need the hard drive.
We need you to use this
to get it from him.
This isn't a friendly discussion,
is it? It's a hijacking.
And here was I thinking I was
the girl you preferred, Philip?
Are you two now a double act?
He's helping us win the case, Pol.
We don't know what he's doing.
An angel come on high to defend us.
I happen to be
passionate about this one.
Oh. Tell you to do one, did they?
Your kids broke the law.
Some of them had records.
No-one gives a shit about them.
Well, I know what it is to be
one of those kids.
He sounds rehearsed to me.
Does he to you, Ange?
No, no. He sounds like
he gives a shit.
Where do you stand, Polly?
You're asking me
to risk my marriage.
Some fucking marriage.
It's all I've got.
I've lost all I had.
I've got a fat husband
who can't get any work,
I've got a fat son who
sits on my sofa all day,
and my beautiful, beautiful daughter
is six feet in the fucking ground.
Angela, you can't just ask people...
I can, I can. No, you can't...
I can, I have to.
And you don't understand.
Leona, she led them in and she
got out and now you...
you don't even... Enough!
You don't even want to...
Enough. That's enough.
No-one is saying Iwan did
anything wrong,
we're just saying there's
a possibility he might be
involved in e-mail chains, which can
shed light on all the matters.
The police won't ask
for his hard drive,
not without more evidence
than they have.
Polly.
SNIFFS
I still want to know
who I can blame.
Why don't you?
I've been trying to work out
what news you'd want to hear about.
I've been thinking I should Google,
but then I went on Google
and I realised I didn't have a clue.
I Googled your Justin Bieber.
Well, I'm pretty sure you're not
into him any more. N-n-no.
No. He's had quite a hard time
recently, I think.
I Googled Beyonce,
she seems very political now.
Still impressive, though. I looked
up a lot of stuff.
Nothing seemed particularly
interesting.
MOTOR HUMS
So, we'll start with the
undercover regions?
And then we'll give your
hair a nice wash.
I got you some new shampoo
from the Co-op.
DISTORTED SPEECH
THEY SHOUT
Let me! Let me! Let me!
No. No. No.
No, you're not doing that.
SHE SOBS
You're not doing that. No.
PHONE RINGS
Iwan's phone.
Hello? Hello.
Who is this?
I wasn't expecting to talk to you.
I thought I'd called his mobile.
Harriet?
How's your daughter?
Why are you calling Iwan?
This is a lot less nefarious
than you think it is.
And I'm so sorry anyone got hurt.
Was that my phone?
No.
PHONE RINGS
Do it.
Ready?
SCREAMS
SOBS
Hey. Hey. Leona.
Leona. You're OK. OK?
You OK?
SHE SNIFFS
You OK?
Bad dream, was it?
Hate those.
I've always, erm,
struggled with those myself.
Got to say, quite enjoying
the handicap stuff we've got now...
D-d-disabled. Yeah.
I'm most grateful for those handles
we've had to put in by the toilet.
I'm not being funny but I
increasingly don't have the knees
for getting down for the squat
and then back up again.
That's a g-g-genuinely muntin'
image.
Really? Let me give you
the proper details.
What I do is,
I lower the old trousers,
then the old nick nacks,
and then just sort of...
Shut up! Shut up!
I haven't been the best of dads.
But I'm trying to do better here,
on this one, right now.
I'm not asking you to forgive me.
Just work with me, OK?
No more t-t-toilet stories.
Scout's honour.
All right.
She's OK.
Coming back to bed?
No, I might just...
I can't really sleep.
Might just sit up, read a bit.
KNOCKING ON DOOR AND DOOR OPENS
How did you...?
Your kitchen door needs a new lock.
I'm not angry with you.
I know you were pressured into it.
I'd like to make a statement -
one declaring how I feel about you,
how much you mean to me,
how much we matter to each other.
The secretary never gets to speak.
I'd like to speak.
They call you a toy boy,
not a secretary.
Take your clothes off. Harriet.
All of them.
I want to see you.
I'm not taking my clothes off.
You broke into my house.
If I make a call,
the police will come.
I don't want to make that call.
Take your clothes off.
You have ruined me.
Finally he admits it.
Now take your fucking clothes off.
No.
I've ruined you already -
what harm can it do?
You always liked me looking at you.
All of them, I said.
HE BREATHES DEEPLY
HE INHALES
HE BREATHES DEEPLY
You, sir, are a work of art.
But if I can just tell them
that I love you.
I adore you, but I don't love you.
This is not about you.
This is about me. They're dismissing
me, they're making...
Can you stop doing that? I won't.
HE GASPS
You're my humiliation.
If you're going to do that, then I
want to touch you. You can't.
I really want to touch you.
HE GROANS
You look at me
with such wide adoring eyes.
Harriet, I don't want this.
And I adored you back.
But given a choice between saving
my own skin and saving yours...
I did the wrong thing. It was all
me. I...I didn't lie.
I deserved punishment.
Ah, ah!
I betrayed you.
My beautiful boy.
You were my boy.
My beautiful, beautiful boy.
And I'm so, so sorry.
I shouldn't have betrayed you.
They won't sue you, Kallbridge.
They could for breach of contract,
but they won't.
I've made sure of that.
You are fired, though.
This is the point where you say
something cutting and obnoxious.
I love you.
Go out the way you came in.
Make sure no-one sees you.
DOOR SLAMS
SHE SOBS
SHE GASPS
My lawyers called.
His lawyers, whatever they are.
They said there'll be a fine,
but no-one's going to jail.
Yeah.
They managed to push most of Alan's
liability onto Kallbridge.
But even so, there'll be some.
I'll lose everything in his name.
Oh.
So I wanted to give you this.
I managed to sell
some of his equipment on the QT to
one of his builder mates.
This is eight grand, Debbie.
You could get in trouble.
You're going to fight on, right?
That's what they said, the families
might launch a private prosecution.
We are. Well, use this.
The money's good.
It's your choice if you take it.
KNOCKING ON DOOR
Where's Angela?
I thought you two came in pairs.
I...I thought you might find it
easier talking to me.
What, you think I'd rather talk to
a lawyer than my best friend?
I'm not an ambulance
chaser or a fake.
That's just what an ambulance chaser
and a fake would say.
I felt like our last meeting went
badly.
We're just digging for one crucial
piece of information
and I think we will find it.
I think we can win this case.
Then you don't know round here very
well.
35 years ago, they closed the pit up
the road.
25, the steel plant.
We've been fighting for jobs ever
since, and got bloody nowhere.
This area loses. We've always lost.
Your long list of injustices,
your Hillsboroughs, your Aberfans -
one thing they've all got in
common - they involved
working-class people no-one really
gave a fuck about.
Even when a block burns down in one
of the richest bits of London,
because it's a working-class block,
no-one cares. Not really.
They give it lip service
and then they move on,
and we're THAT, Philip. We're them.
And the CPS have proved it,
and to keep fighting,
that only means more hurt,
and more heartbreak, because they'll
beat us again and this time,
they'll take our homes too.
So I surrender.
I say fuck it.
I say I'm done with
the damage of it all.
I'm a mother and a wife,
and all this - I can't do it.
I can't do it any more.
I'm out.
The defendant has been accused
of gross negligence manslaughter.
They've all taken on mortgages
they can't pay back to pay for this
trial.
This is my chance to say my bit
and do my bit.
And I want to get justice.
Don't you?
I just don't want you to get hurt.
This whole case is going to come
down to something quite specific -
who the jury wants to believe.
I've never lied about what I did.
Big day. Back on the stand. Do you
know what they're going to say?
Why would I know what
they're going to say?
They wanted me to take your computer
and I refused.
I need you, Polly. I need you too.
Only you chose the wrong side.
We're going to win.
We've an ace up our sleeve.