Cobra (2020) s01e03 Episode Script

There will be just 30 minutes before we know if this storm will fuse a few kettles or send us back to the Stone Age.
Anna? You didn't answer my letters.
Four super-transformers on the electricity grid have been burned out, leaving large areas of the country without power.
I have spoken to Her Majesty and informed her of the measures I intend to take under the emergency legislation.
Have you ever seen a transformer? How long does transformer replacement take? In some cases it can be a question of weeks.
Northumberland can wait.
Get the rest on the road with military protection immediately.
The situation is getting worse here, minute by minute.
So, which virtue-signalling ponce has been lined up to replace him? Francine Bridge was one thought that occurred to me.
A little while ago, Georgia's parents agreed to switch off her life support machine.
- Fire! - Fire! I can't let Ellie face the possibility of prison, Robert.
Leave it to me and Peter, we will get through this.
A situation has developed at the university next to the Hadley Brook Immigration Removal Centre.
It wasn't all of them.
Like, at first, it was really friendly, we had a party going on, and then there were a couple who started, like, harassing the girls.
The main guy was the one with the face He had, like, markings on his face.
I don't know, like, blotches down one side.
He was the main trouble-maker.
He was the one who started dragging girls into rooms.
Things just started getting out of hand, there was a fight, and then one of them tried to stop him, but He was the one that got stabbed.
- Sir? Buses are ready to go.
- Thanks.
- Where are we going? - Our command centre is in the hospital.
It still has power, so we can try to arrange to get you home from there.
It definitely wasn't all of them.
But the guy with the face markings, the ringleader, he was Yeah, he was just bad.
So, if you bring this to us later, we'll definitely get them all signed.
I thought you were staying with Francine Bridge? She was busy with her Resilience Forum, so I checked into this hotel.
Are you OK? I'm fine.
I'm fine! What's happened at the university? Well, as far as we can tell, it was all a big fiesta while the students waited for evacuation.
Then, a few of the escapees from Hadley Brooke showed up, trouble started.
- Two girls were raped.
- Oh, Jesus.
One of the escapees actually tried to stop it, he was stabbed in the neck.
I wonder what angle the press will take? There was a ringleader, apparently.
He's been identified as a violent criminal called Nojus Sabonis.
He was awaiting repatriation to Lithuania, having served a six-year sentence for an acid attack on his girlfriend.
- Have they found him? - No.
I have to go up there, Anna.
To Northumberland.
Are you sure? It sounds like I'll wait and find out we're not just getting in the way, but I have to go there.
The nationwide blackout that plunged the UK into darkness over a week ago has still not been completely resolved and a significant part of the country remains without power.
The government has declared a national emergency, with special measures that include a ban on all unauthorised travel within and between certain designated areas, especially the Red Zone of North East England.
This includes large cities, like Newcastle and Sunderland, which have effectively come to a standstill.
The travel ban has come under intense scrutiny and criticism by opposition parties.
There are reports of people collapsing after being forced to walk miles to relief centres for basic resources, aid and shelter.
- Can I see your paperwork please, sir? - Yeah, no problem.
Cheers.
They started coming within a few hours of the blackout.
First in their tens, then their hundreds.
It's now thought that over 2,000 people have sought refuge at the Royal Northumberland Hospital, from where the relief operation in the Red Zone is (CAR HORN SOUNDS) Sorry! Freckles? It was his prison nickname apparently.
Mainstream media, just trying to demonise immigrants again.
Wait, wait, is the right answer "Western foreign policy"? Sorry, how many kids got bombed in the Yemen this week? - Who's going to prison for that? - He's got you there.
Can I just point out, this guy is not an impoverished asylum seeker, but a hardened woman-hating criminal from Lithuania.
He got the facial markings in an acid attack on a defenceless young girl.
Yeah, save it for The Hague, you melt.
Right, this neoliberal discourse will not write itself, so I am gonna lock myself in the study for the next hour or so.
I've got no idea what time we'll be back, so I'll probably stay at Maddie's again, - she's down in her constituency.
- Yeah, sure.
(PHONE RINGS) Yeah, Fraser, hi.
Good morning, everyone.
So, we've re-coded the zones still without power or with very little supply.
The Red Zone is Northumberland, north of Newcastle and reaching as far as Stockton.
Yellow Zone is North Wales, from the Llyn Peninsula across to Prestatyn.
Green is west coast of Scotland, north of Kilmarnock.
And Blue is North Cornwall, west of Camelford.
The rest of the UK, approximately 80%, is in the White Zone, where power is almost fully restored, but subject to brownouts.
- We're visiting the Red Zone? - Mm-hmm.
We'll stop at the first roadblock between zones so the PM can speak to some of the troops enforcing the zonal traffic controls.
Kettling.
It's not kettling.
People are walking out with what they can carry.
It's preserving fuel so we can keep our emergency centres running.
We leave straight after this morning's COBRA.
The PM will travel in his car.
You lot will follow behind in a special bus also carrying medical supplies.
He'll come on board to chat from time to time.
And will this bus have some kind of message of hope on it or? Cos I'm definitely gonna fall for questions - about messages on the side of buses.
- (LAUGHTER) Any update on Freckles? Obviously, the search continues for the escaped detainees.
Can I please ask you to report this responsibly.
They're not refugees or failed migrants, several were hardened criminals, legitimately in the UK at the time of their arrest.
Is Rachel Sutherland travelling with her husband? No.
Because of the situation with their daughter? There is no situation with their daughter.
I hear the police may interview Ellie again.
Is the PM gonna make any comment in light of Toby Kennedy-Brown's revelations to my paper? You have me at a disadvantage, Cressida.
He was at the party where Georgia Nixon died.
We're running a piece with him on Sunday.
Well, the Prime Minister is rather busy trying to deal with the national emergency, but, of course, the entire family is devastated by the death of a friend.
Right, see you all later for the big road trip.
I hope you all brought lots of refreshments.
I've invited Francine Bridge onto the bus.
She called me a monument to unconscious sexism at PMQs once.
Oh, you know, the cut and thrust of parliamentary debate - Very unfair.
I'm actually a feminist.
- Never say that again.
Anna, I can't tell you how relieved I was to hear you hadn't burned alive in that hotel.
- Thank you so much.
- And hubby back safely, too.
Hope to see him back on our screens soon.
- What's up with the friendly snark? - No idea, but I don't like it.
So, all I really know is one of the Sundays is running a piece.
It could just be about the dangers of fentanyl.
It could be.
Do you know a guy called Toby Kennedy-Brown? - Yeah.
- He was at the party? Yeah.
He's the one been talking to the journalist doing the piece.
Toby? He's, like, the biggest I mean, he'd stick his finger in a plug socket for a hit.
Just stick entirely to the story you told the police the first time round.
Why do they want to speak to me again? Georgia's father has been very vocal.
They need to be seen to do everything they can - to avoid any accusations of - Favouring the posh white girl.
- Precisely.
- He'd be right, though.
That's exactly what's going on.
Because posh white girls tend to fare very badly in prison.
Just leave it with me.
All right? This will all blow over soon, as long as we stick to the script.
Good morning, everyone.
Now, as you're aware, I shall be leaving for the Red Zone immediately after this meeting.
I do think the current climate is unfavourable for a visit by you, Prime Minister.
Well, running scared from the current climate has never done us any favours.
The police are very anxious that, with conditions in the camp, the atmosphere will be intensely hostile to you personally.
They should attend a cabinet meeting.
I have to say, Prime Minister, that I do share the Home Secretary's concerns.
I have major worries about the security implications.
We should wait and send a royal.
We have to show that we're not frightened.
Now, I've asked the Press Secretary to request that the editors ease off a little on this situation with the Hadley Brooke rapist still on the run.
Catching Freckles would be a low-cost morale boost.
I have to question whether an extensive manhunt is a reasonable use of scarce resources during this current emergency.
He and his refugee mates did rape a bunch of girls.
Two.
I'm surprised to see you of all people downplaying the seriousness of such a crime, Anna.
I won't dignify that with a response.
But the last thing we need right now is a scare campaign against immigrants.
Oh, yes, heaven forbid we should put anybody's interests above theirs.
Remember Cologne? This was not Cologne.
And one of the escapees nearly died trying to prevent it I will take a very dim view on anyone who fans the flames of xenophobia right now.
This country is on the brink.
We do nothing to further division or disorder.
Yeah.
OK, good.
Yeah, that one.
OK, hold on.
Fraser, a relief lorry has been hijacked near Doncaster.
- What was it carrying? - Bottled water.
It's gonna cause a big problem.
Red Zone's already running close to zero, we need a replacement on the road at once.
Uh Yeah, the warehouses are also reporting shortages.
Then a tanker.
Anything.
We can't have them running out of water, especially with the PM about to show up.
Fraser Walker.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, sure.
OK, leave it with me.
- I'm shitting myself, Anna.
- This is where you're at your best, thinking on your feet, dealing with a hostile crowd.
- I have no empathy.
- Of course you do.
I'm not here to feel your pain.
I am here to tell you how we're gonna get the lights back on.
You see? That's good.
Everyone talks about empathy these days.
But that's not gonna get the lights back on.
No, keep it first person.
You know, i-it's easy enough to hug survivors and blame the government, but it's much, much harder to actually put things right.
No, it's too obvious, it's too party political.
Plus, it reminds people that we haven't always been the party of hugs.
Kick out the jams, motherfuckers.
I'd rather you hated me than forgot me.
Smashed it.
Let's hit the road.
I called him a monument to unconscious sexism at PMQs once.
Oh, don't worry, he won't remember that.
Been called far worse.
Pleased to see you, Francine.
Monumentally pleased, in fact.
OK, I lied.
He never forgets an insult.
I am glad you've joined us.
Hopefully we'll get a chance to chat on the journey.
They're running low on bottled water in the Red Zone.
What do you mean you're running low on water? I mean, blood, insulin, I can kinda get, but water's pretty damn basic, don't you think? - Well, it's because - I don't care about the reason, Fraser, just get it bloody sorted.
I don't wanna turn up there and see crying kids begging for water.
That would look pretty fucking regrettable, don't you think? No glitches, remember? I shall see you anon.
I thought you might be going on the magical mystery tour.
Better stories here.
Have you actually been outside the M25? Yes.
I lived in Scotland, actually.
I'm not sure the University of St Andrews really counts.
I trolled the Press Secretary gently with Toby Kennedy-Brown.
- Does he know what he said? - No.
Peter Mott and Rachel Sutherland have been coaching Ellie for her police interviews.
If I were a journalist, I'd want to know the degree to which the Prime Minister sanctioned that.
And if I were a politician, I'd also be setting up a few ambushes at PMQs.
You need him to lie to parliament.
That's what always gets them in the end.
One step at a time.
Right, I'm on the radio in half an hour.
Listen up, cos I'm gonna melt a few snowflakes.
This is the second violent attack in as many days on drivers who are working round the clock to try and deliver emergency supplies to vulnerable people in the Red Zone.
Shit, that's all we bloody need.
General Secretary of the Lorry Drivers' Union I was wondering when we'd hear from Comrade Rowntree.
- What's he saying? - That it's all our fault.
Not ruling out a national stoppage.
(PHONE RINGS) Peter.
OK.
I'm just with Anna, so I'll talk to you at the next stop.
OK.
- What's that about? - Oh, just Peter.
I said, "What's it about?" not, "Who was it?" Ellie's just finished with the police, apparently.
Right, so, Peter's Francine Bridge must know a thing or two about Harry Rowntree.
Have her come and sit up with us.
- That was terrible.
- Well, it's over now.
- They knew! - Don't think about it.
- It's finished.
Put it behind you.
- Put it behind me?! Oh, Ellie Oh, God.
I meant the interview, sweetheart.
Not Georgia.
Please Please, stop torturing yourself.
(PHONE RINGS) (RINGING CONTINUES) Peter.
No, fucking awful.
This is the last of the water bottles.
We'll soon have water, very soon.
It's all gone.
The rest of you will have to wait for the next delivery.
There's no more water, it's all gone.
- Come on, love.
- I'm next! You're next.
I'm next! I was next! Please, my daughter is thirsty.
It's ladies first in this country.
You were next, love.
I'm sorry.
I'm not jumping the queue.
He's got a bairn, as well! - You see his face, though? - Yeah.
- Them marks? - That's him.
That's Freckles.
(SCREAMING AND CLAMOURING) Downing Street, meanwhile, has confirmed that the Prime Minister will visit the Red Zone relief camp today, after criticism from the opposition that the government is abusing its emergency powers How many people are travelling between the zones? Not so many now, but it was difficult at first.
I understand.
Thank you very much.
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER) - What's happening with Ellie? - It's under control.
It's imperative he's not seen to be influencing - Anna - at any point, Peter - you do your job and I'll do mine.
- He is my job.
Especially if it looks like his daughter has just lied to the police with his knowledge.
It's all under control.
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER) (PHONE CHIMES) (SHOUTING AND CLAMOURING) Well, they were supposed to be here half an hour ago.
Look, where is the water tanker now? Right, well, put your fucking foot down, because this place will slide into anarchy without water.
(SIGHS) Shit.
Sir! Sir, come quickly.
They're gonna kill him.
We can't hold them anymore.
- What's going on? - They're gonna lynch somebody! (ENGINE REVS) (INDISTINCT SHOUTING) (ENGINE REVS) (ENGINE REVS) (ENGINE REVS) Stop! Stop! Move! Stop! Stop! Stop! This is murder.
Stop! What the hell is going on here?! (ENGINE REVS) (INDISTINCT SHOUTING) He's trying to say something! (ENGINE REVS) Whoa! Whoa! Vitiligo! Listen to me! Listen to me! Listen.
Vitiligo.
He's got vitiligo.
It's a skin condition, not acid burns.
Listen, man! Please! This isn't the guy you think it is, OK? He's not Freckles! He's not Freckles! Just let me unfasten him and I will let you go, OK? OK? I promise.
I'm just gonna unfasten him, right? (ENGINE REVS) Come on.
Look at you all! You're behaving like animals! Fuck off! Is this what we've come to? Jarvis, help me get him inside! Gold Commander says it isn't safe.
They're still waiting on the water tankers and they've just narrowly avoided a lynching.
What?! There were a few people who mistook a dark-skinned Asian man with vitiligo for a blue-eyed Lithuanian with acid burns.
Is he all right? Well, suspected fractured skull among other things.
They took him into the hospital, and there are still rumours Freckles is in there, being protected.
I think you should get back to the car.
I don't want the press taking pictures of us stranded here.
Hey! Are you OK? Absolute PR catastrophe if I have to turn around.
It'll be even worse if it starts kicking off at the hospital.
You look like you haven't slept more than two hours since this whole thing started.
More or less.
I've been popping pills to cope with the lack of sleep.
Well, I'd knock that shit on the head if I were you.
I was pleased to hear you might join Policy.
You were a massive loss to the party.
Are you still a member? I left because of everything, really.
I'm still a bit - Well, actually, I'm a bit homeless.
- (CHUCKLES)Join the club.
Fraser.
No, no.
No, no.
One of your staff just told me about your father.
- Oh, i-i-i-it's not because of that.
- No, I Losing a parent's just I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier about the water situation.
You're doing a fantastic job.
Thank you.
Better go and hide back in the car.
Have you decided? On the advice of the security detail, we're heading back to London.
Well, that really won't look good.
Home Secretary, civil liberty campaigners have been expressing concern about the rise in vigilantism.
Of course they have.
Lynching of alleged looters and rising - So, I just apologised to Fraser.
- Listen.
are you not worried about mob rule? I am more worried about dangerous foreign criminals roaming around, attacking young women.
And I have far greater trust in people's justice than in the bleatings of the diversity lobby.
- But in the current climate - Particularly in the current climate.
That miserable bastard.
Just the message we wanna be putting out (!) He knows we're stuck here.
He must be pissing himself laughing while he stirs the pot.
- Fuck it.
- No! - We're going.
- It's not safe.
I don't care.
Tell the Gold Commander to make arrangements for a safe arrival and to prepare some kind of PA system.
I cannot, will not let that utter charlatan speak for us.
Well, I believe that is not the right decision at the moment.
Fine, fine.
If anyone's gonna get torn to pieces, it might as well be a politician.
ALL: Bring him out! Bring him out! Bring him out! (SIREN WAILS) So, while the cat's away The cat's right here.
It's the mice that have fucked off.
I heard your interview.
People's justice.
- That's not very subtle.
- Nor are my supporters.
Opening shots in a leadership challenge? The advisers are having some interesting chats in the bars.
Did you see Harry Rowntree's threatened to stop the fuel deliveries? Obviously, that would be disastrous and I would suggest stringing him up from a gibbet on the M1 for treachery.
Yeah, although it's win-win for you, isn't it? Ellie's just had her police interview.
- She definitely supplied the drugs.
- Of course she did.
And blamed a dead girl, with her parents' support.
More debatable.
They might try and push the Press Secretary under the bus.
That might work to our advantage.
If I know Peter Mott, he'll flip rather than take the blame.
It has to be clear that the PM knew what he was doing and okayed it.
Letting foreign rapists roam freely.
Failure at a time of national emergency.
Perverting the course of justice.
He's toast.
I'm sorry you had to come through the kitchen area, sir, but It's where they shot Bobby Kennedy, of course.
I didn't know that.
I really recommend you don't go outside, Prime Minister, the mood is very ugly.
It's why I have a security detail, isn't it? I don't think your security detail fending off an angry mob is quite the look we're aiming for with this trip.
Get some shots on the wards with the plane crash victims.
I wanna see the man who was attacked first.
He's very poorly, sir.
I can take you to the crash victims.
We'll talk to the medics.
I'd like to introduce you to my Silver Commander.
This is Assistant Chief Constable Crawford.
- He's in giddy mode.
- I know.
Don't let him go outside.
You think it's that easy? Stop muttering, you two.
I have very good hearing.
When you want to.
You were a war reporter, Anna, for God's sake, show a bit of backbone.
It's your backbone people are concerned about.
Bulldog spirit.
Enough of that crap, Robert.
the security team are taking a look outside and if they say it isn't safe, it isn't safe, and you are not going outside, end of.
Did you just say, "End of"? OK, yeah, but the point stands.
I mean it.
They're ready for us on the wards.
Mm-hm.
I wish you all the very, very best for a speedy recovery.
Isabella's just round here, sir.
Isabella's just round here, sir.
Isabella.
Are you up for a visit? How are you feeling? Better? I understand that Chief Constable Collier here rescued you and your baby from the wreckage.
Yes.
Thank you.
The doctors tell me you will walk again.
- I think so.
- That's good.
- It's a no go.
- Thanks, Mike.
It's a definite no, thank God.
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING) You came this far.
You didn't turn on your heel or anything.
- Do you think that's how it'll look? - Listen to them outside! CROWDL: Bring him out! Archie's going over the top soon.
That was just some preliminary shelling.
- Probably.
- I should sack him.
Not yet.
The doctors have said you can go up to Kemal Hussain's bedside, sir, but he won't be able to speak.
Oh, God.
Come on.
This is still important.
(CROWD CONTINUES CHANTING IN THE BACKGROUND) All right.
No press.
ALL: Bring him out! I'm uh I'm so very sorry this happened.
I like your doll.
Does she have a name? Dolly.
My daughter called her favourite doll John.
Could not talk her out of it.
They hurt my daddy.
Robert.
No! No! Get out of my way.
Robert! It's for your own security! You have to let these people do their job.
(PRESS ASKING QUESTIONS ALL AT THE SAME TIME) Robert! Could you pl (OVERLAPPING CHATTER) - I know you're angry - Yes, and when I'm very, very angry, I become totally oblivious to any other consideration.
- Yes, I do know that, but - No fucking buts.
We have to show our face at times like this.
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING AND CLAMOURING) (SHOUTING CONTINUES) Get them off him! Get them off him! Fuck off! (CLAMOURING CONTINUES) (GLASS SHATTERS) (SHOUTING AND JEERING) (GROANS) Give me the mike.
Come on.
Give me the mike.
(FEEDBACK WHINES) Please! (SHOUTING CONTINUES) There are people inside that hospital working around the clock to try and resolve this situation.
Not politicians like me, but people who do a hard job for very little reward, because they believe in public service.
Now, the man inside that hospital is not the man you think it is.
His name is Kemal Hussain.
He has vitiligo, and he is an innocent man.
Now, he also has a beautiful daughter, who's just asked me, why is her daddy lying in a hospital bed with his head smashed in.
WOMAN: Cos he's a rapist! Now, the people who did that are not some kind of guardian angels, they are lawless thugs, and such crimes will not go unpunished while I am still Prime Minister.
There is no justice but the law in this country.
MAN: Yeah! Now, at times like this (GLASS SHATTERS) (JEERING) If you're gonna throw things, please maybe try and aim a little better.
(SCATTERED LAUGHTER) At times like this, it is usual to say, "I feel your pain.
" (JEERING) Empathy, right? All the best politicians are meant to feel it, to show it.
Well, I don't feel your pain.
(GROANING) No, no, no.
How can I? I can only try and do something about it.
Now, I can tell you that the super-transformer has left Germany and we are working day and night to try and bring it to you.
And we will bring it to you.
I promise you that right here and now.
We will bring back power, we will turn the lights on again.
Let this situation bring out the best in us rather than the worst.
And to those who try to exploit this situation for their own ends, from the vigilantes, to the charlatans who try to make political capital out of the suffering of others, I say this.
There will be a reckoning.
(CHEERING) I promise you, we will turn the lights on again! (CHEERING) Thank you.
When? That's all we want to know.
When is this gonna be over? Unfortunately, moving and installing such massive equipment is proving very difficult.
I'm sorry, but we are doing our utmost to bring it to you.
At least you came, showed your face.
Thank you very, very much.
Thank you very much, indeed.
Thank you.
Thanks, everyone.
Thank you.
- You should feel better.
- Thanks.
Thank you.
(PHONE CHIMES) - How are you feeling? - Oh, it's it's nothing.
It just grazed the side of my head, really.
How many fingers am I holding up? Friday? (BOTH LAUGH) You ready to go? I've ordered a helicopter to take you back to London.
Robert, it's not necessary.
It's a scratch.
Non-negotiable.
I want you checked out in a properly-functioning hospital.
Is Sam home? Yeah, but I'm borrowing Madeleine Cook's flat, she's in her constituency.
See you back in London.
- Chief Constable, thank you so much.
- Thank you.
Take care.
Were you referring to the Home Secretary or Harry Rowntree out there? I was referring to anyone who uses this crisis for their own selfish ends.
Archie is Archie.
He shoots from the hip, straight at his own foot most of the time.
- You can't sack him, can you? - I've got bigger things to think of than cabinet reshuffles today.
Thank you.
- Like your daughter's police interview? - All right.
That'll do.
Thank you very much, everybody.
I think there's enough lynch mobs running around right now.
Perhaps we should let due process take its course.
Real classy, Jane.
Well done.
Goodnight, Dad.
The Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, Anna Marshall, has been discharged from hospital after being hit by a stone as Robert Sutherland addressed the crowd at an emergency relief centre.
The large crowd amassed outside the Royal Northumberland Hospital following an attack on one of its relief camp's residents, - Kemal Hussain.
- (PHONE CHIMES) The Prime Minister also stopped at the M1 secure checkpoint, where he met members of the Local Resilience Forum and British soldiers tasked with manning the zonal divide.
(DOORBELL RNIGS) Come away with me.
(LAUGHS) I have a house in the hills outside Mostar.
I don't know if you've noticed, but There's no internet connection.
Only fig trees in the garden, where you can sit and read books, drink wine.
I have children, I have a job that I love.
I'm not that young girl out of university chasing wars.
You are exactly the same to me.
Yeah, because I haven't had the chance to become anything else.
Believe me, within a year you'd be affectionately thumping my arse and asking me to warm the milk for your coffee.
How dare you! I would never ask for milk in my coffee.
(LAUGHS) I need water, I need water! (PHONE CHIMES) Anna? (COMPUTER BEEPS)