This programme contains strong language from the outset
and scenes that some viewers may find upsetting.
HELICOPTER WHIRRS OVERHEAD
(MAN) Seen enough?
(WOMAN) What are you going to do?
Yeah, you! It was you that brought those cowboys in. Your government!
So what are you gonna do?
The government I represent is going to press
for the highest levels of compensation
for the families of those who so tragically lost their lives.
ANGRY SHOUTING
And blow us all to kingdom come!
If everyone shouts at once, we won't hear
what the Deputy Prime Minister has to say.
(RADIO) '..when 19 people were killed and 94 injured
'in an explosion at the nearby PetroFex refinery three d...'
RADIO OFF
I want to reassure you that we will leave no stone unturned.
A team from the HSE are already at work,
and the PetroFex company is sending
specialists from the United States...
(MAN) Can we believe what they tell us? We want answers!
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
We'll have a new government in a month, and good fucking riddance!
APPLAUSE
It remains to be seen who will win the election,
but the government I represent...
Oh, shut up!
We will rebuild here in Scarrow. You have my word on that.
Your word's worth nothing! You lot have got it covered!
SHOUTING
Sit down!
I think we should all, please, calm down.
Let him go, Sergeant.
Mr Dawkins!
Have you heard of Sollendale?
I'm sorry?
Have you heard of Sollendale? The man beside you might have.
Yeah, it's one of our plants in the US.
Four years ago, they came very close to having an incident
just like the one they've had here.
Why weren't we told?
If I could just interject...
The company commissioned a confidential report and made changes
to safety procedure at Sollendale,
procedure that was not implemented here at Scarrow.
Mr Dawkins, would you like to read that report? I've got a copy here.
MURMURING
Just a journalist out to cause trouble.
I thought we were going to get lynched in there.
They're angry. It's understandable.
They don't get it, do they? It's all us, this, you know?
The minibuses, after-school club, maintenance of the hall.
It's all PetroFex money.
Are you saying they're ungrateful?
No.
(MAN) Bit of a thankless task.
Being Deputy Prime Minister is a succession of thankless tasks.
Interesting?
Sobering.
I have met with criticism for attending the summit here in the US
at such a sensitive time.
However, the opportunity to press the case of the people of Scarrow
with Paul Clark and the others at PetroFex,
who will ultimately be making the decisions regarding their future,
was one I felt that I had to grasp.
We value the jobs this company brings to an area
of considerable economic deprivation.
But we also demand the very highest possible safety standards.
It is these issues that I have raised with Mr Clark
who is as concerned as we are for the people of Scarrow.
You know, I know Teesside well. I know the calibre
of the people there.
And I know that, after a period of recovery, a period of mourning,
grieving their losses from this awful tragedy,
that, er...those communities will recover.
Make no mistake...
TV GOES OFF
Have you seen Section Four?
Yes.
Thanks to Ellis Kane's helpful Post-its,
yes, I've seen Section Four.
OK, will do.
Ellis Kane, freelance journalist.
The Americans want to tap her phone.
The Americans do? Right.
The Americans at MI5 or the Americans at MI6?
Trigger word?
PetroFex.
Just through here.
Thank you.
Deputy Prime Minister.
It's good of you to come.
Thank you.
She was...what age?
Two and a half.
It's strangely peaceful in here.
It is now.
(RADIO) 'The Leader of the Opposition, Carol Maloy, claimed today
'that the Prime Minister's continued absence from the UK
'at a time of national tragedy serves to underline
'that the government is out of touch with the people it is supposed to serve.
'The latest poll figures add weight to her argument.
'The government is lagging on average nine points behind the opposition...'
MOBILE PHONE RINGS
The Prime Minister.
Hello, Charles.
'Tom.'
Still up in the air?
'Just about.'
It's a little rough up here, but we're almost through it now.
Listen, er, change of plan. I'm flying straight to Teesside.
I'll be there in about three hours.
'I want you to go to Number 10 in any case, hold the fort till I get there.'
We're on our way.
'Listen, Charles, did you know there was a similar incident
'at Sollendale four years ago?'
Sollendale is irrelevant, Tom.
'What's important is that'
I've got Clark's word on a very hefty package
of compensation and reconstruction.
And you have his signature on that, I presume?
Listen, I know that you think
'that this trip to the US was a waste of time...'
I think we're losing the election, Charles.
Not many votes in Texas.
'So, the, er...'
compensation package, it...?
Covers everything, chapter and verse.
SUDDEN BANG
Hello? Charles?
Lost him?
Call him back, will you?
PHONE RINGS
Laura Duchenne.
MOBILE PHONE RINGS
Ma'am?
Deputy Prime Minister!
Mr Dawkins, is this about Scarrow?
Do they know what caused the explosion yet?
Is the Prime Minister going to resign?
What are your electoral prospects?
Is Charles Flyte going to resign?
All radio and radar contact has been lost
with the plane carrying the Prime Minister back from the United States.
'The last contact was made when the plane was approximately 900 miles west
'of the British Isles over the Atlantic.
'Its scheduled arrival time...'
What's he doing out there?
'..was 1.30 this afternoon, three hours ago.
'There were no distress signals,
'nor have there been any warnings or claims of responsibility.
'The circumstances are grave,
'but there remains a possibility
'that the Prime Minister and the plane's other passengers'
are alive.
That's all I wish to say.
Where was the plane last seen?
So who's running the country, Mr Dawkins?
What the fuck's happened to Charles, Tom?
I wish I knew.
Well, you did well.
A military background like yours comes in handy at times like this, I suppose.
MOBILE PHONE BEEPS
Gents!
That's what it says on the door, Ros.
I wouldn't want to be missing anything.
Well, first off, thanks to Tom Dawkins for fronting up so effectively
while ministers were dashing back from far-flung parts.
And as Deputy Prime Minister, Tom is well placed to bring continuity
while the dust settles.
(ALL) Hear, hear!
I'd like to suggest he base himself here for the time being.
And now I'll pass over to Laura Duchenne for the security position.
Thank you.
All we're looking at - thank you - is scenarios.
The more obvious terrorist angles, al-Qaeda, dissident Irish republicans,
some sort of double-header with the Scarrow explosion.
But there wasn't a bomb at Scarrow?
We can't be certain yet, but we don't think so.
However, it was an unscheduled flight,
and the fact that so few...
Whose plane was he on?
It was a PetroFex plane.
As I say, so few people knowing the PM was returning that way,
renders an attack less likely, but don't rule it out.
We still don't know if there was an incident.
I think it's going to be all right.
So you think he's still flying around up there, Felix?
I wish he was. Which is more than can be said for you, Ros.
'Details remain thin on the ground
'in the wake of the disappearance of the plane
'carrying the Prime Minister...'
Toothpaste, toothbrush, flannel, towels, soap.
Oh, thank you.
And ear plugs?
In the drawer beside the bed.
Thank you.
'The deputy Prime Minister...'
Shall I close the curtains?
'..earlier today but remains at Number 10.'
No. No, thank you. It's... It's OK.
I have been praying for him.
I'm going to pray for you too.
HELICOPTER WHIRRS OVERHEAD
VOICES ECHO
'Captain Dawkins, come in, over.'
INDISTINCT SHOUTING
SHOUTING
HELICOPTER WHIRRS
(MUFFLED) Sir, um... I'm sorry to wake you so early.
We've had a call.
They've found wreckage.
Thank you.
He's dead. Nothing we do is going to change that.
We'd have had to replace him after he lost us the election anyhow.
(FELIX) I need to know what my approval numbers are. Exactly.
So who else is saying yes?
I've got a lot of support. I'll have a hell of a lot more
if I can say that Tom Dawkins will be my DPM.
Ros, Felix, we need a show of solidarity.
A coronation. I couldn't agree more.
Just need a credible coronee!
Well, you two will have to wrestle with that.
I suggest that as a neutral, Tom hangs on to the reins.
In the meantime.
I know what you were doing, John.
There's a party to lead and a country to run,
and when it comes right down to it, it's me or Fauntleroy.
Think about it - a country run by Felix.
Ros, this isn't the time.
I'm offering you the deputyship.
Do we have a deal?
Do I have a choice?
Good luck.
CAMERAS CLICK
It is with great sadness that I have to inform you
that wreckage retrieved from the north Atlantic early this morning
has now been identified as coming from the plane
carrying our nation's Prime Minister.
'The government is therefore regretfully adopting an official position -
'the Prime Minister is dead.
'A memorial service will be held within the next week
'and the party will choose a new leader to take us into the election.
'I hope I speak for all of us when I say that as a man and a leader,'
he will be greatly missed.
Coming as this does...
HELICOPTER WHIRRS
Tragically, this comes in the wake of the disaster in Scarrow.
And on the back of...a good few years now of real hardship
for a lot of people in this country.
And you might feel, as I do...
..that our nation is being sorely tested.
It is.
But a tragedy like this can act to bring us together...
..despite political differences and economic strife.
I have a powerful belief
that all those who live in this great nation of ours can play a part
as we pick our way through our current troubles,
and that even in the midst of tragedy, we must have faith
that there is a better path ahead.
Charles Flyte may be dead,
but that idea of faith and hope must endure.
Our thoughts are with his wife and with his family.
Thank you.
Well done.
(REPORTER) 'The search is intensifying, not for survivors now,
'but for the flight recorder.
'Specialists from the US Navy are here
'and they're determined to discover whether foul play or mechanical failure
'lies at the root of this tragedy.'
'Charles Flyte's reputation as a breath of fresh air
'in the stale arena of British politics
'may have been in doubt in the months before his death...'
'Getting out of the car, John Hodder,
'appointed Chief Whip by Charles Flyte
'and continues to hold great sway within the government...'
'Arriving with the Chief Whip, the Foreign Secretary, Ros Yelland,
'not always the most on message...'
'The Home Secretary Felix Durrell,
'perhaps Charles Flyte's closest friend...'
'And here comes Tom Dawkins,
'not thought to have been personally close to the Prime Minister,
'but Charles Flyte appreciated his gravitas and experience.
'He appointed him as his deputy despite opposition from...'
Nothing to report in the investigation?
No black box, no story.
What do you make of the fact that it's a company plane?
Are you asking if I subscribe to hysterical conspiracy theories?
A member of the Prime Minister's team made a call before they flew
that may have been compromising.
To the Taliban?
To a cousin in Luton.
Syed Khan?
You suspect Charles's secretary. Why?
Because he's Asian?
Syed can't confirm or deny it
because he's been lost with the rest of them.
Isn't that your ex-wife?
Tom.
Hello, Rosie.
How are you?
Fine.
How's Alex and the kids?
You always ask that, Tom...
but you never really want to know.
I'm so sorry about Charles.
Thank you.
(ELLIS) Mr Dawkins? Mr Dawkins?
Your boss got nothing out of that meeting with PetroFex.
I've seen the minutes.
You've got my number.
Get hold of her file.
BIG BEN CHIMES
That's you, sir.
Taking time out of your busy schedule to meet me? I'm honoured.
Thanks.
So, Miss Kane...
Look Sharp.
That's what he calls himself.
It's how he starts his emails. Look Sharp. My inside man at PetroFex.
'And he has the minutes of the meetings between Charles'
and Paul Clark?
And passed them on to me.
And in return?
You have a man inside Number 10. What more do you want?
I don't know if you read the papers,
but your lot are not going to be in Number 10 for much longer.
So why give them to me?
I could write the story - I probably will - but right now,
you could actually do something.
MOBILE PHONE RINGS
'Pass him over to me.'
Yes, ma'am.
Sir, Duchenne.
Hello?
Tom, will you please, for Christ's sake, get off the street?
'Keeping tabs on me, Laura?'
For your information, Syed Khan's poor, maligned cousin from Luton,
he'd been downloading structural diagrams
of the plane Charles was killed in.
'Sorry about Charles. He was a good man.'
He had a great future ahead of him. I was very fond of him.
'Yes, I'm sure you were fond of him.'
Look, I've just been going through the minutes of your meeting together.
'What minutes?'
Well, one of Charles's assistants emailed them through before they left.
Charles's assistants weren't in the meeting, Tom.
'Well, the point is, I spoke to Charles when he was halfway back'
and what he told me, and the minutes don't,
is that you and he agreed on a hefty compensation package for Scarrow.
We know what our responsibilities are, Tom.
'With all due respect, that's not the impression you're giving.'
We need you over here.
We need you looking at the devastation on Teesside
and telling us what you're going to do about it.
I've seen devastation before, Tom. I saw the place before we set up there.
'I see that you're quoted in the press as saying'
that an American life is more valuable than a British one.
That's not a moral statement, that's an actuarial one.
Yes, but you set your safety standards accordingly.
'I've seen the Sollendale report.'
Why don't we just row back a little bit here?
Why don't we row back to where you deliver what you promised?
You know, I think I'll wait till after the election.
I wouldn't want to be wasting my breath.
What is it, John?
Between you and me and the gatepost, I've had a little private poll conducted.
Oh, yes?
And when asked who they would like to see as Prime Minister,
given the choice of you, Ros Yelland or Felix...
They said Wayne Rooney.
(CHUCKLES)
56% of them said you.
You give off stability, Tom, and people are craving that.
No.
Ros Yelland is... the best man for the job.
The public don't agree.
She's not simpatico.
Do you really want to be in opposition for the next five years?
I'm not a leader.
You looked very like one making that speech the other day.
You were a captain in the army for ten years.
That's where I learned my lesson.
Then you're a different man now.
And you know it. Now, look me in the eye and tell me it isn't true.
She wants me to be her deputy.
Tom, we need someone with balls.
As DPM to Ros Yelland, you're like the sultan's fucking eunuch!
Come on!
ANGRY SHOUTING
(CHANTING) Dignity in death! Dignity in death!
Let us bury our dead!
Could you hold on one moment?
Tom, you met with a pathologist when you were in Scarrow. Mark Ashcroft?
He's called us in the press room half a dozen times trying to reach you.
Dr Ashcroft. Briefly, please.
Nisa Matthews, the little girl whose hand you found.
There are toxicity readings in her soft tissue that I wouldn't expect to find.
Her and all of the blast victims.
What sort of toxicity readings?
'Her father's the same, but much more pronounced. He's awash with it.'
I want to make sure that it's not a genetic anomaly,
so I need to keep hold of both of their bodies.
Surely, by now, you must have completed your investigat...
'Her dad, Dermot Matthews, worked at the plant.
'So I've been asking what he might have come into contact with.
'The company have been fighting me every inch of the way.
'They even tried to deny that the body was his at first.
'Said he wasn't on site at the time.
'The mother's told the press I'm keeping the bodies for no reason.
'I'm under siege, just because I'm trying to do my job.'
D-D-Dr Ashcroft, we're talking about a woman
who's lost her husband and her daughter.
Mrs Matthews just wants the bodies of her loved ones back.
And she will get them.
Just as soon as PetroFex give me the information
that I need to complete the postmortems.
Yes.
Well, thank you for calling, Doctor.
PHONE RINGS
Hello?
Who is this?
LINE GOES DEAD
Bless my soul, it's the father of the nation.
Well, very statesman-like.
Tony Fossett.
Him?
Yes.
And, er...her?
Yes.
And him.
No.
You just haven't met him yet.
Er... As you were.
All right, stand down.
You never lose it.
So how are you, Tony?
Could you actually lend me 20? I've got a cabbie waiting outside.
Taxi's got an oily chain, has it?
I've been to see my sister.
You remember her.
You shagged her once.
Me? I was blameless. I took the sofa because she wanted the spare room.
And why were you on my sofa?
You know bloody well why I was on the sofa.
You compounded your misdemeanour on my sofa with my sister.
And now look at you.
I miss those days.
Pass me your phone, would you?
Do you mind if I take the battery out?
You can never be too careful.
Nobody's bugging me, Tony.
Maybe.
As long as you have a battery in your phone,
they can drop in whenever they like.
Humour him. We do.
I need your help, Tony.
I'm getting nothing from Laura Duchenne.
No help with PetroFex.
The mighty Laura Duchenne was a lowly reports officer when I was at MI5.
She always did have her own agenda and now she's running the place.
She could never live with the idea that I knew she'd cocked up on Nightlight.
'I had a call from the pathologist.
'There were toxins at Scarrow they can't explain.
'Now PetroFex are obstructing his investigation. So I need to know
'what they're hiding.'
Charles told me that they were going to pay out big compensation.
They've gone very quiet on that front.
You'll have to show them what you're made of, Tom.
Cover the road.
They're telling me I'll have to quit if I become PM.
You won't have time to smoke when you're PM.
You see, the ridiculous thing is...
..having to do all this without looking like we're actually trying.
There's a sense of it being unseemly with Charles sort of...out there.
Look, I know Ros has you on an exclusive, Tom,
but, um, it's a lost cause, believe me.
Say the word and I'll wrap you in my warm and tender love.
Foreign Secretary?
That'd give her something to think about on the back benches.
We can hide in here for five minutes.
Clark's been trying to wriggle out of the compensation package
that he agreed with Charles.
You haven't been frightening the horses, have you, Tom?
Clark's a slippery sod.
Yes, but don't worry about Clark. We have mutual friends.
I've heard that you've been putting it about that they killed Charles.
PetroFex.
You heard wrong.
Cos you're aware how flaky that would sound in the public arena?
You're swimming against the tide, Tom.
The company's share price actually rose today.
And who's the company's biggest shareholder, Felix?
Royal Caledonian Bank.
And who owns the bank?
Oh, Tom, look...
We do.
The British Government. The British people. And the bank owns PetroFex.
Are you trying to write my manifesto for me?
I just want to know that you'll be on the case, Felix,
if we win the election with you as leader.
(RECORDING OF PATHOLOGIST) 'I have nothing to say to you, all right?
'I have nothing to say to you, all right?'
He's a mix of Manc and Mackem.
Formative years in Didsbury and then a good 20-odd in Sunderland.
'I have nothing to say to you, all right?'
'I've nothing to say to you, all right?'
'This is Dr Ashcroft, Pathologist.
'I'm not at my desk. I need the test results again for the Matthews family.'
How's that, Nightlight? Good? Where's the phone?
What were you doing in Fauntleroy's camp, Tom? Not putting out for favours, I hope.
Oh, just keeping abreast of developments.
What's the latest? Tax relief on gun dogs?
You're not going to beat him, Ros.
Tom?
If you're saying you're standing, I'll break your fucking nose.
We were a team.
I asked if you were standing. You said no. I said, "Come with me."
(SIGHS) Look at the polls, Ros.
Fuck the polls!
I haven't even started, and you'd better not get in my way, Tom.
'Hello. Colton Laboratory.'
(MIMICS) Er, this is Dr Ashcroft, Pathology. I'm not at my desk.
I need the test results again for the Matthews family.
(CLEARS THROAT)
About your request for promotion.
I've been told to tell you not to hold your breath.
There's a surprise!
Economic climate, etc, etc.
Hey, want to see something above your pay grade?
Have you heard of Syed Khan?
There we go.
What's this?
Photos we intercepted from his phone.
The last photos of the PM alive.
Sent by Syed to his cousin before they took off.
The same cousin who's just been arrested.
RINGING TONE
(MAN) 'Hello?'
Can you put me through to Tom Dawkins, please?
'I'm sorry, the Deputy Prime Minister is not available.'
And you are who?
'I'm Mr Dawkins' Private Secretary.'
So he's got time to tell you to tell me
'he hasn't got time to talk to me,
'but not enough time to tell me that himself?
'You know he once shagged my sister?'
No, I didn't know that, sir. Shall I, um...?
'Not many people do.'
He wasn't always the paragon of virtue he is now.
Ask his ex-wife.
'She knows where all the bodies are buried.'
Nice talking to you, Mr Fossett. Anything you'd like me to pass on?
Um... Could you tell him to go fuck himself with a feather duster?
Right. Goodbye, Mr Fossett.
'Tell him to call...'
(CUTS CONNECTION)
Tell him he needs to hear more about toxicology.
(TV) 'Police are investigating the death of Scarrow pathologist Mark Ashcroft,
'whose body was found this evening.
'Meanwhile, the survivors of Scarrow say the government has abandoned them.
'Work has yet to resume at the refinery,
'and no government minister has visited the town since...'
TV GOES OFF
HELICOPTER WHIRRS
CONVERSATION ON MILITARY RADIO
CONFUSED SHOUTING
You're thinking about Bosnia.
Yes.
Tom...
..you did the right thing.
Did I?
Well...
What if I stand?
Don't, Tom.
(RADIO) 'Westminster is alive with speculation today
'as the government decides on a new leader
'to take them forward into the General Election.'
Good luck, sir.
The dark patches are burn marks - in all probability, a bomb.
Is it true you spoke to the pathologist the day he died?
There was mention of a substance - PFX44.
Al-Qaeda claimed it pretty early on.
If we're going to get a shot at them, it'll have to be now.
I'm going to ask you to stop right there.
You don't suppose they'll shoot us, do you?
You can never tell with the Americans, sir.
They won't spike Tony Fossett because he's an intramural subject.
Meaning?
A bad influence, am I? Is that it? Know too much about you, do I?
It's personal.
Don't say my name. I was hoping we could...have a talk.
Just need to get our angles, right. And get the word from you?
This may be our one shot.
They're praying.
Then, we've got him!
You can't kill a man who's praying!
Is this you? Bosnia, 1992?
And when he comes a cropper, I want people to say, "Remember what Ros Yelland said."
They're on the move. This is our last chance.
Tom!
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd