Cobra (2020) s01e06 Episode Script
Episode 6
- Have you just sacked Dominic Knight? - That is outrageous.
- You're quite right.
- Are you going to make a move, Archie? You may be able to force me out, but can you get yourself in? I'm going down to Chequers with the lorry drivers today, and I'm going to deliver our message.
I will be back after you're long gone, son.
People's Justice has called for a boycott on talks until Minett's death is clarified.
That is your boyfriend having dinner with Tony Lulin.
Lulin uses an assassin and is greatly feared.
I need to talk to you, Mum, can I come and see you? No, you need to stay inside.
The situation is really volatile.
Don't leave the house tonight.
- Where's my mum? - Trust me.
Posh white girls tend to fare very badly in prison.
If I know Peter Mott, he'll flip rather than take the blame.
Ellie told us that she felt pressured into lying.
Who do you think it'll be that she'll name.
You, or her mother? You see, I don't need us to agree on everything, I just want somebody who's not an arsehole and that I can trust.
How do we know that you didn't have Scott Minett taken out? Why don't you get back to your barricades, you posturing idiot? Because I'm coming for you tomorrow.
Open the roads by any means necessary.
We're losing control of the situation.
I'm authorising you to return fire.
The mood is one of shock and disbelief, as protestors gather at the blockade where troops opened fire with live ammunition yesterday evening.
There has been considerable Internet speculation that one of the victims was a young journalist called Yvette Taylor, who was at the site taking photographs, although Police have still refused to confirm this.
In the meantime, a Government spokesperson said that troops came under attack with military issue grenades and only fired in self-defence.
The Prime Minister is expected to make a statement to Parliament later.
She was a young woman who was just doing her job.
She was holding a camera, not a gun.
How many more people have to die, Prime Minister? How many more victims must there be to your stubborn ego and thirst for power? It is time for us to throw out this rotten and incompetent government by any means necessary, including a general strike.
- Morning, everyone.
- Morning.
After careful consideration, I have written a letter to the Prime Minister in which I have made it clear that I can no longer, in good conscience, remain part of the Cabinet and have resigned as Home Secretary.
It has been an enormous privilege to hold one of the great offices of state, but the terrible events of this week have made it impossible for me to continue.
I believe this situation has been mismanaged from the start.
Some might say you contributed to the situation with your incendiary rhetoric about People's Justice.
I make no apologies for listening to the legitimate concerns of ordinary British people.
And I certainly do not believe they should have been met with bullets and special tribunals.
There are rumours that you and your supporters will abstain - in the forthcoming confidence vote.
- That remains to be seen.
All options are open.
I'm sorry, do you mean you could even vote against the government? All options are open.
Thank you.
Rob, at the back.
- Good morning, everyone.
- Good morning.
The Home Secretary will not be joining us today.
In his absence, I will chair the meeting.
The soldier who was burned by the white phosphorous grenade has just died.
We have made six arrests from a neo-Nazi group that infiltrated People's Justice, who are believed to have contributed to most of the violence.
They will appear before special tribunals tomorrow morning.
We should throw the book at those bastards.
Any word back yet from ballistics? So far we only have evidence of soldiers discharging weapons.
Well, I authorised live ammunition.
I will take full responsibility.
Fraser, what's happening with the transformer? It was undamaged, although a section of the rioters did get dangerously close to the trailer with petrol bombs.
- It is now nearing the substation.
- How long will it take to install? I'll have engineers working on it around the clock.
Well, I want every record smashed.
We get that thing working, we can start to rebuild.
My team will be there until the lights come back on.
Now, as you are all aware, the opposition are putting down a vote of no confidence and there is speculation based on a "senior Cabinet source", now an ex-Cabinet source, that I might be forced to resign.
Now, let me be perfectly clear about one thing.
I made a promise to the people at that hospital that I would turn the lights back on and I intend to keep that promise.
We were faced with a situation of outright insurgence against the law of this country and the basic rights of our people.
I will not resign.
Latest ComRes poll shows that 42% of people believe that it was the protestors and not the government that were responsible for what happened.
Not a majority.
Sizeable though, especially in the immediate aftermath.
58% believe they were infiltrated by the far-right.
- They were.
- And 72% agree with the proposition that civil liberties should be restricted in the case of a national emergency.
I'm about to join the list of Prime Ministers only ever remembered for one thing.
Not always a bad list.
Gold Commander, come in.
Sally.
We're out of fuel.
I don't think the generator has long left.
Yes, I do get that but the issue is a bit more I am, of course, aware Hugh, you know, I'll get back to you.
Got a bit of horse-trading going on for Home Secretary.
Get yourself a constituency quick and we can promote you.
I'm resigning too, Anna.
OK.
Four people are dead.
Five.
The soldier in hospital just passed away.
Yvette Taylor was a young photographer, she wasn't even a rioter.
Yeah, and soldiers high on a mixture of fear and adrenaline clearly thought her camera was a weapon.
- The troops came under fire.
- That has not been established at all.
It's funny, you have a little less outrage about a 21-year-old soldier with a wife and baby.
That's a cheap shot.
No, the cheap shot was throwing a phosphorous grenade at him.
Do you think this hasn't caused the Prime Minister sleepless nights Oh, admit it, he's all you bloody care about, really, isn't he? - Your precious Prime Minister.
- I do admit it, he is precious when I look at the alternatives.
We were facing an insurrection with a strong racist element.
- Oh, don't do that.
- Why not? Yeah, I knew I shouldn't have taken this job in the first place.
Oh, come on.
Deep down I have always known we have different values.
And mine don't include firing at journalists and unarmed protestors.
Oh, do fuck off with your sanctimonious whining.
Excuse me?! Take that to Twitter and slap a hashtag on it.
You hawk your conscience around when it suits you.
At least I have one to hawk.
You know the funny thing about you, Anna, is you think your worldview is beyond question.
Civilised society.
Quiet governance.
The art of the possible.
All goes out of the window when your interests are threatened, though.
And you never once stop to think about how it's all shaped because of your privilege and your wealth.
I think about it all the bloody time! But it was also shaped, and very specifically, by going into the town of Vukovar after the collapse of civilised society.
Oh, give it up with bloody Yugoslavia, - it was 30 years ago.
- There is no statute of limitations! God, I wouldn't have thought I'd need to say that to you of all people.
- Me of all people? - Oh, for f - What the fuck does that mean? - Whatever you want it to mean.
Well, thank you for your job offer to be a fig leaf for your party and its overt and sometimes not overt racism.
I'm going to clear my desk.
You're gonna need that to get out, you idiot.
I haven't got long, Archie, what's this about? No need for that tone, Robert, I come here in a spirit of compromise.
I know I resigned, but I am here to assure you of my support in the confidence vote.
Why? I don't think it's the right time for a change of leader.
Anyway, the offer stands.
- What's the catch? - No catch.
Of course there's a catch.
A small symbolic gesture would be nice.
Just to make me feel appreciated.
Go on.
I understand Francine Bridge has just resigned, so there's space in the policy unit - for a reformed character.
- Dominic Knight.
Everybody deserves a second chance.
He can't work with Anna, you know that.
I do know that.
You like it here, Robert.
Everybody does.
Nobody wants to leave, especially such a short time into their term of office.
You have such hopes of reforming the country, maybe even dipping a finger into the great honeypot of social care reform.
It's all I ask.
It's a very small price to pay to stay in Number 10.
Er, we've reached that elevated stretch of road we were concerned about, but the engineers won't give the go ahead.
They're being too cautious.
I'll give the go ahead.
What's the next best route? There is another way, but it would be at least another two days.
- Is it the weight limit? - Yep.
Bollocks! I thought we had all this sorted, Stephanie.
Yeah we thought so too, but it seems like the engineers miscalculated the camber or something.
The engineers are now saying there is a 40 to 60% chance - the bridge will collapse.
- Oh, top data, guys.
And the driver's heard the risk assessment and he doesn't want to be Flat Stanley so Ah.
We can't just leave it there, not after all we've been through.
Fuck! He's really not going to like this.
You there, Fraser? Is it sorted? Listen, we've hit a bit of a snag.
We decided to push on in spite of the risks, er, - but the driver's refusing to - Get another driver.
Yeah.
That's the plan.
Hello? Who's that? It's Stephanie Lodge from the Civil Contingencies - Put Fraser back on.
- Er, I can't.
Put Fraser back on! - I'm sorry, Prime Minister, it's - Stop stammering and tell me what the fuck is going on there.
It's Anna Marshall.
You're doing a great job there, Stephanie.
What's actually happening now? He's going to drive the trailer himself.
Okay.
Come on, come on.
What's happening? Yeah, he's moving.
Has he ever driven a? Not to my knowledge, no.
He's halfway.
- It's going to collapse.
- It's going down The bridge can't take it.
He's stopped.
What are you doing? What are you doing? Get out of there! The bridge is collapsing! OK, he's moving again.
Almost made it but the bridge isn't holding.
Front wheels clearing.
Wheels have cleared, he's almost there.
Rear wheels clear.
You're there! - Well done! - It's OK.
He's made it.
He's made it, he got it through.
- Thanks.
Thank you, Stephanie.
- Yes.
Please tell Fraser thanks.
So it is absolutely clear now that they were using the flat of a British MP to set up a drugs deal.
And the twist is the heroin wasn't being offered for cash.
A hit.
On a dissident called Murat Tayfaral whom they were hoping to lure out by using the flat to establish credentials.
- To be carried out by Nico.
- It's not him.
I just - I cannot believe - He had a gun.
- And he used it to save my daughter.
- Who in her debrief said that she heard them call him by that name.
What now? Now he is between a rock and a hard place.
I am hoping that he sees sense and chooses the rock on which I am perched like a particularly beguiling mermaid.
You're omitting one fairly important detail about mermaids and sailors.
What are you offering him? A deal, by which he gives up everything he knows about Toni Lulin and his networks with the Turks and the Chinese operating the Balkans.
That will get him a new identity and our protection.
Or We send him back to where he comes from.
- Which will mean - They will kill him, Eleanor.
He used you, Anna.
But either way he's gone.
That was the back-up generator.
Bloody People's Justice went off with the other one.
All pumps and ventilators have failed and all emergency surgery has been suspended.
Look, we have no more generators capable of keeping this place running that we can get here in time.
They've just done an emergency tracheostomy on a 14-year-old.
He's still critical.
How long until the transformer is up and running? There was a delay getting it here.
They're already under intense pressure.
I can't risk I'll find out.
- Dad in his study? - He's packing.
Does this mean you'll stay here now? Yeah.
While Dad's away, for sure.
Why did you go to the flat in the first place? I wanted you to come home.
I thought if I just talked to you then - Cab is due any minute.
- OK.
I saw you're facing a vote of no confidence.
I guess a lot depends on Archie, then.
Everything depends on that.
Good luck with that.
Safe journey.
Yeah, better head.
Bye, darling.
- Bye, Dad.
- Bye.
He had a nice face.
What's going to happen to him now? I don't know.
Mm.
Now's the time to strike.
I don't have the support for a leadership challenge.
Besides it is not an optimum time.
Who wants to deal with this mess? - Then - More than one way to skin a cat.
The critical thing is to get rid of her.
Without her hand up his arse, he's just a Poundshop Sooty.
Sack Anna to stay in power? - Yes.
- I can't do that.
You have to take it or it's a general election and the next guests at this table will be Hezbollah.
Anna is a symbol.
Of who runs things.
Everyone will see it that way.
Who gives a shit how people see it? You are fighting for your life here, Rob.
Your Edin is smart, stubborn and rude, all qualities I admire.
Plus, he's a handsome fucker.
Even I'd be tempted if I didn't have a lovely wife at home.
Do you mind if I give you some advice? Get clear of Robert Sutherland or you'll go under with the sinking ship.
Save it for the rats.
Archie has demanded that Sutherland sack you in return for his support in the confidence vote.
He won't do it.
Giving in to blackmail only makes you a prisoner of your blackmailer and he could never accept that.
- What? - You don't get to be Prime Minister without that little extra something.
That little extra something being an unquenchable thirst for the top job.
You can't want him out, as well.
Who else would have handled this crisis as he has? My previous concerns about him were alleviated slightly by his decisiveness at the barricades, I'll grant you that.
And what were your previous concerns? Oh, I'll save those for now.
It's your only hope.
I even suggested he replace Anna with you.
Best not say what his answer was.
I never told Ellie to lie to the police.
Not, you know, as such.
Explicitly.
Great.
But Rachel did.
And the PM knew about that? He tried to turn the other way especially when Anna was in the room which, as you know, is pretty much always.
So Rachel coached Ellie and the PM knew what was going on.
Of course he knew.
Rachel Sutherland said posh white girls shouldn't go to prison.
OK.
That's volcanic.
- I was shocked.
- Of course you were, Captain Renault.
- When are you going to run this? - Just before the confidence vote.
Give you time to draft your resignation letter.
I assume you'll be monitoring the conversation? You assume correctly.
He won't do it.
What happened to you, Edin? - The war happened.
- Oh, please.
It's not an excuse.
It's a fact.
You kill people.
Tess says you saved her life.
I could not stand by and watch them hurt your daughter.
Thank you for that.
I appreciate it has brought you considerable problems.
Like the annoying Welsh woman.
She's not so bad, really.
You get used to her.
Nothing else I told you was a lie.
- Take the offer.
- No.
- Why not? - I won't live like that.
At least it is living.
I will resolve matters back home, trust me.
Then I will go to my house on the mountainside and I'll sit under the fig trees among the butterflies, and I will wait for you to come.
- Don't go back.
- I have no choice now.
Life is just moments, Anna.
And ours have been such good ones.
I love you.
I have always loved you.
You have one new message.
Tick-tock, Robert.
Not long now until the confidence vote.
I'd like an answer on those personnel changes we discussed.
The ball's in your court.
You know where to find me.
It's all over the Internet, Mum.
It's literally everywhere.
Ellie, stop looking at them.
Rich white girls don't belong in prison.
I didn't even say that.
- I said they "fare badly".
- Ugh.
And the context was entirely different.
I was being ironic.
God, I wish I hadn't listened to you and Peter.
Well, I wish you hadn't served Class A drugs.
Then I wouldn't be looking at a prison sentence myself.
Oh, God, Ellie, sorry.
Look, of course it's not going to come to that.
Whatever Peter says, it's just gonna look like - he's just trying to save his own skin.
- Do you know what I wish, Mum? I just wish Georgia was still alive.
Peter turned.
We'll get through it.
Should I go and talk to her, do you think? I don't know.
Maybe just let her sleep.
I'll go.
- Ellie.
- Oh.
- You can shut them out, you know? - I can't, Dad, I can't.
Sweetheart, it's going to feel all right in the morning.
No, it's worse.
Every single morning, Dad, it's worse.
Change of sleeping plans.
We're gonna make like those times in Nairn.
Do you remember that? Remember those holidays? You were about four years old .
.
and got lost on the beach and you were crying because you couldn't find us - and we were there the whole time.
- We were right there.
We were right beside you.
And we had digestive biscuits for breakfast from a red packet.
It was just the three of us in that one room.
You remember that? Because I remember that.
They were the happiest days of my life.
We're here for you, sweetheart.
There's nobody but us now.
I literally cannot wait until I see her smug little face again.
Thank you so much for coming, Dominic.
I felt it was important that we cleared the air.
Thank you, Prime Minister.
Now, I assume you're aware that your return to Number 10 was contingent upon Archie supporting me - in the forthcoming confidence vote.
- Well, not in so many - Of course he knows.
- Of course he does.
It works for everyone, doesn't it? No-one is irreplaceable.
An excellent summary.
Good.
Coffee's here.
How do you take yours, Dominic? White, no sugar.
Do you? Do you, indeed? - I don't understand.
- He brought us all the way here just to tell us to go fuck ourselves.
- An excellent summary.
- Better call the removal men, Robert.
You can bring me down, Archie.
But you will never take my place.
You've always tried to exploit this crisis for your own shitty ends, not caring who gets hurt along the way.
And that is the worst kind of politician in my book.
So if you two want coffee, you can leave by the door you came through and fuck off to Starbucks.
OK, we're ready to give this a go.
But this is a first test, OK? I'm not promising anything.
OK, stand by.
You OK? I'm fine.
Eleanor James says you're going to sack me to save your career.
I'm not.
That's what I thought.
Make Parminder Home Secretary.
That's what I thought.
I think it's too soon.
The data isn't clear enough.
I should have given them more time.
I've rushed this.
They needed to run the final tests.
Oh, God.
Oh.
Er Wha Is it Are the police coming? What did he say? OK, things are going to be a bit wobbly at first, but, ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to report that power to the Red Zone has just been restored.
You did it, Fraser! You fucking did it.
You put the lights back on! - You kept your promise.
- Yes, I did.
I don't care about the confidence vote anymore.
This is all that matters.
Fuck off to Starbucks? Well, I would have been Prime Minister in name only.
And he would have made sure everyone knew it.
Plus, there's your undying loyalty to me.
Well, there's that, obviously.
Do you know what would be handy? If you could dig up a tape of Archie, in a brothel, dressed as an SS officer.
He'd probably put that on Instagram.
Yeah, should be something he'd be ashamed of, I guess.
Lights back on, he thinks it's all over.
Don't look now but his numbers are steadily climbing.
Let's see what happens when it's proved he lied to parliament, and his wife thinks she can escape justice because she is rich and white.
Your strategy for getting rid of Anna Marshall didn't go so well, did it? Plan B then.
Run it past me, just for my amusement.
Ensure the tabloids know she likes cavorting - with drug dealers and assassins.
- Not an option, don't go there.
Why the hell have you always got her back? Because she is a graceful soprano in a world of hairy-arsed baritones.
Pure as a little bell.
Unlike me you mean.
Oh, Archie, I love you dearly, but you're as pure as my dog's bowels after it devoured the Christmas cheese selection.
Now, while Team Sutherland don't know where the bodies are buried I certainly do, so the question I'd be asking myself right now is this, do I want to fall out with Eleanor? I hear they're lining up Parminder Haigh to replace you.
Course they bloody are.
Well, I hope she enjoys her week in the Home Office before Her Majesty is forced to choose a new Prime Minister.
You know what they say about a week in politics.
Fuck the confidence vote.
I'm going to the country anyway.
If they want an election, I'll give them one and I'll win.
The small matter of the fixed term parliaments act Then I'll abstain from the confidence vote.
I think the Chief Whip'd have something to say about that.
Fuck the Chief Whip.
You cannot just ask people to judge you on how you've handled the crisis.
You have to offer something new, something positive.
So you're my Chief of Staff.
Make a break with the past.
- Announce a wealth tax.
- What?! - Listen - You are joking, we're still the Conservative Party.
Announce a wealth tax to fund a solidarity scheme for victims of the storm.
People with gold taps on their yachts can afford it.
Say we are going to do things differently now.
Support diversity without being a box-ticking opportunist.
Be presidential, as you have been all through this crisis.
Then you can win.
You're right.
We can't go back to the way things were.
Francine Bridge has hinted that she might be open to a return to parliamentary politics.
I remain a mainstream social democrat whose core beliefs are fighting poverty and injustice through progressive reform.
There must surely be a party around that represents such values in these chaotic and dangerous times.
- Good morning, everyone.
- Good morning.
Our new Home Secretary Parminder Haigh - will be chairing the meeting.
- Welcome, Parminder.
Now, today will be our last daily COBRA, and I just wanted to thank you all for your tremendous efforts.
These last weeks have been horrendous and have led to both agonising decisions and terrible outcomes.
People have died.
I have been guided at all times by what I believe to be the national interest.
Now, as you are aware, there is a confidence vote this week.
That vote is now irrelevant.
I intend to call a general election and let the people pass judgement on our handling of this crisis.
A crisis that has cost so much and whose consequences will be felt for years.
Who do they trust to lead us through this difficult period that lies ahead? Fraser, I understand you have an update on the Red Zone.
So, we still have some voltage instability in the Red Zone, but the other zones are now fully operational.
- You're quite right.
- Are you going to make a move, Archie? You may be able to force me out, but can you get yourself in? I'm going down to Chequers with the lorry drivers today, and I'm going to deliver our message.
I will be back after you're long gone, son.
People's Justice has called for a boycott on talks until Minett's death is clarified.
That is your boyfriend having dinner with Tony Lulin.
Lulin uses an assassin and is greatly feared.
I need to talk to you, Mum, can I come and see you? No, you need to stay inside.
The situation is really volatile.
Don't leave the house tonight.
- Where's my mum? - Trust me.
Posh white girls tend to fare very badly in prison.
If I know Peter Mott, he'll flip rather than take the blame.
Ellie told us that she felt pressured into lying.
Who do you think it'll be that she'll name.
You, or her mother? You see, I don't need us to agree on everything, I just want somebody who's not an arsehole and that I can trust.
How do we know that you didn't have Scott Minett taken out? Why don't you get back to your barricades, you posturing idiot? Because I'm coming for you tomorrow.
Open the roads by any means necessary.
We're losing control of the situation.
I'm authorising you to return fire.
The mood is one of shock and disbelief, as protestors gather at the blockade where troops opened fire with live ammunition yesterday evening.
There has been considerable Internet speculation that one of the victims was a young journalist called Yvette Taylor, who was at the site taking photographs, although Police have still refused to confirm this.
In the meantime, a Government spokesperson said that troops came under attack with military issue grenades and only fired in self-defence.
The Prime Minister is expected to make a statement to Parliament later.
She was a young woman who was just doing her job.
She was holding a camera, not a gun.
How many more people have to die, Prime Minister? How many more victims must there be to your stubborn ego and thirst for power? It is time for us to throw out this rotten and incompetent government by any means necessary, including a general strike.
- Morning, everyone.
- Morning.
After careful consideration, I have written a letter to the Prime Minister in which I have made it clear that I can no longer, in good conscience, remain part of the Cabinet and have resigned as Home Secretary.
It has been an enormous privilege to hold one of the great offices of state, but the terrible events of this week have made it impossible for me to continue.
I believe this situation has been mismanaged from the start.
Some might say you contributed to the situation with your incendiary rhetoric about People's Justice.
I make no apologies for listening to the legitimate concerns of ordinary British people.
And I certainly do not believe they should have been met with bullets and special tribunals.
There are rumours that you and your supporters will abstain - in the forthcoming confidence vote.
- That remains to be seen.
All options are open.
I'm sorry, do you mean you could even vote against the government? All options are open.
Thank you.
Rob, at the back.
- Good morning, everyone.
- Good morning.
The Home Secretary will not be joining us today.
In his absence, I will chair the meeting.
The soldier who was burned by the white phosphorous grenade has just died.
We have made six arrests from a neo-Nazi group that infiltrated People's Justice, who are believed to have contributed to most of the violence.
They will appear before special tribunals tomorrow morning.
We should throw the book at those bastards.
Any word back yet from ballistics? So far we only have evidence of soldiers discharging weapons.
Well, I authorised live ammunition.
I will take full responsibility.
Fraser, what's happening with the transformer? It was undamaged, although a section of the rioters did get dangerously close to the trailer with petrol bombs.
- It is now nearing the substation.
- How long will it take to install? I'll have engineers working on it around the clock.
Well, I want every record smashed.
We get that thing working, we can start to rebuild.
My team will be there until the lights come back on.
Now, as you are all aware, the opposition are putting down a vote of no confidence and there is speculation based on a "senior Cabinet source", now an ex-Cabinet source, that I might be forced to resign.
Now, let me be perfectly clear about one thing.
I made a promise to the people at that hospital that I would turn the lights back on and I intend to keep that promise.
We were faced with a situation of outright insurgence against the law of this country and the basic rights of our people.
I will not resign.
Latest ComRes poll shows that 42% of people believe that it was the protestors and not the government that were responsible for what happened.
Not a majority.
Sizeable though, especially in the immediate aftermath.
58% believe they were infiltrated by the far-right.
- They were.
- And 72% agree with the proposition that civil liberties should be restricted in the case of a national emergency.
I'm about to join the list of Prime Ministers only ever remembered for one thing.
Not always a bad list.
Gold Commander, come in.
Sally.
We're out of fuel.
I don't think the generator has long left.
Yes, I do get that but the issue is a bit more I am, of course, aware Hugh, you know, I'll get back to you.
Got a bit of horse-trading going on for Home Secretary.
Get yourself a constituency quick and we can promote you.
I'm resigning too, Anna.
OK.
Four people are dead.
Five.
The soldier in hospital just passed away.
Yvette Taylor was a young photographer, she wasn't even a rioter.
Yeah, and soldiers high on a mixture of fear and adrenaline clearly thought her camera was a weapon.
- The troops came under fire.
- That has not been established at all.
It's funny, you have a little less outrage about a 21-year-old soldier with a wife and baby.
That's a cheap shot.
No, the cheap shot was throwing a phosphorous grenade at him.
Do you think this hasn't caused the Prime Minister sleepless nights Oh, admit it, he's all you bloody care about, really, isn't he? - Your precious Prime Minister.
- I do admit it, he is precious when I look at the alternatives.
We were facing an insurrection with a strong racist element.
- Oh, don't do that.
- Why not? Yeah, I knew I shouldn't have taken this job in the first place.
Oh, come on.
Deep down I have always known we have different values.
And mine don't include firing at journalists and unarmed protestors.
Oh, do fuck off with your sanctimonious whining.
Excuse me?! Take that to Twitter and slap a hashtag on it.
You hawk your conscience around when it suits you.
At least I have one to hawk.
You know the funny thing about you, Anna, is you think your worldview is beyond question.
Civilised society.
Quiet governance.
The art of the possible.
All goes out of the window when your interests are threatened, though.
And you never once stop to think about how it's all shaped because of your privilege and your wealth.
I think about it all the bloody time! But it was also shaped, and very specifically, by going into the town of Vukovar after the collapse of civilised society.
Oh, give it up with bloody Yugoslavia, - it was 30 years ago.
- There is no statute of limitations! God, I wouldn't have thought I'd need to say that to you of all people.
- Me of all people? - Oh, for f - What the fuck does that mean? - Whatever you want it to mean.
Well, thank you for your job offer to be a fig leaf for your party and its overt and sometimes not overt racism.
I'm going to clear my desk.
You're gonna need that to get out, you idiot.
I haven't got long, Archie, what's this about? No need for that tone, Robert, I come here in a spirit of compromise.
I know I resigned, but I am here to assure you of my support in the confidence vote.
Why? I don't think it's the right time for a change of leader.
Anyway, the offer stands.
- What's the catch? - No catch.
Of course there's a catch.
A small symbolic gesture would be nice.
Just to make me feel appreciated.
Go on.
I understand Francine Bridge has just resigned, so there's space in the policy unit - for a reformed character.
- Dominic Knight.
Everybody deserves a second chance.
He can't work with Anna, you know that.
I do know that.
You like it here, Robert.
Everybody does.
Nobody wants to leave, especially such a short time into their term of office.
You have such hopes of reforming the country, maybe even dipping a finger into the great honeypot of social care reform.
It's all I ask.
It's a very small price to pay to stay in Number 10.
Er, we've reached that elevated stretch of road we were concerned about, but the engineers won't give the go ahead.
They're being too cautious.
I'll give the go ahead.
What's the next best route? There is another way, but it would be at least another two days.
- Is it the weight limit? - Yep.
Bollocks! I thought we had all this sorted, Stephanie.
Yeah we thought so too, but it seems like the engineers miscalculated the camber or something.
The engineers are now saying there is a 40 to 60% chance - the bridge will collapse.
- Oh, top data, guys.
And the driver's heard the risk assessment and he doesn't want to be Flat Stanley so Ah.
We can't just leave it there, not after all we've been through.
Fuck! He's really not going to like this.
You there, Fraser? Is it sorted? Listen, we've hit a bit of a snag.
We decided to push on in spite of the risks, er, - but the driver's refusing to - Get another driver.
Yeah.
That's the plan.
Hello? Who's that? It's Stephanie Lodge from the Civil Contingencies - Put Fraser back on.
- Er, I can't.
Put Fraser back on! - I'm sorry, Prime Minister, it's - Stop stammering and tell me what the fuck is going on there.
It's Anna Marshall.
You're doing a great job there, Stephanie.
What's actually happening now? He's going to drive the trailer himself.
Okay.
Come on, come on.
What's happening? Yeah, he's moving.
Has he ever driven a? Not to my knowledge, no.
He's halfway.
- It's going to collapse.
- It's going down The bridge can't take it.
He's stopped.
What are you doing? What are you doing? Get out of there! The bridge is collapsing! OK, he's moving again.
Almost made it but the bridge isn't holding.
Front wheels clearing.
Wheels have cleared, he's almost there.
Rear wheels clear.
You're there! - Well done! - It's OK.
He's made it.
He's made it, he got it through.
- Thanks.
Thank you, Stephanie.
- Yes.
Please tell Fraser thanks.
So it is absolutely clear now that they were using the flat of a British MP to set up a drugs deal.
And the twist is the heroin wasn't being offered for cash.
A hit.
On a dissident called Murat Tayfaral whom they were hoping to lure out by using the flat to establish credentials.
- To be carried out by Nico.
- It's not him.
I just - I cannot believe - He had a gun.
- And he used it to save my daughter.
- Who in her debrief said that she heard them call him by that name.
What now? Now he is between a rock and a hard place.
I am hoping that he sees sense and chooses the rock on which I am perched like a particularly beguiling mermaid.
You're omitting one fairly important detail about mermaids and sailors.
What are you offering him? A deal, by which he gives up everything he knows about Toni Lulin and his networks with the Turks and the Chinese operating the Balkans.
That will get him a new identity and our protection.
Or We send him back to where he comes from.
- Which will mean - They will kill him, Eleanor.
He used you, Anna.
But either way he's gone.
That was the back-up generator.
Bloody People's Justice went off with the other one.
All pumps and ventilators have failed and all emergency surgery has been suspended.
Look, we have no more generators capable of keeping this place running that we can get here in time.
They've just done an emergency tracheostomy on a 14-year-old.
He's still critical.
How long until the transformer is up and running? There was a delay getting it here.
They're already under intense pressure.
I can't risk I'll find out.
- Dad in his study? - He's packing.
Does this mean you'll stay here now? Yeah.
While Dad's away, for sure.
Why did you go to the flat in the first place? I wanted you to come home.
I thought if I just talked to you then - Cab is due any minute.
- OK.
I saw you're facing a vote of no confidence.
I guess a lot depends on Archie, then.
Everything depends on that.
Good luck with that.
Safe journey.
Yeah, better head.
Bye, darling.
- Bye, Dad.
- Bye.
He had a nice face.
What's going to happen to him now? I don't know.
Mm.
Now's the time to strike.
I don't have the support for a leadership challenge.
Besides it is not an optimum time.
Who wants to deal with this mess? - Then - More than one way to skin a cat.
The critical thing is to get rid of her.
Without her hand up his arse, he's just a Poundshop Sooty.
Sack Anna to stay in power? - Yes.
- I can't do that.
You have to take it or it's a general election and the next guests at this table will be Hezbollah.
Anna is a symbol.
Of who runs things.
Everyone will see it that way.
Who gives a shit how people see it? You are fighting for your life here, Rob.
Your Edin is smart, stubborn and rude, all qualities I admire.
Plus, he's a handsome fucker.
Even I'd be tempted if I didn't have a lovely wife at home.
Do you mind if I give you some advice? Get clear of Robert Sutherland or you'll go under with the sinking ship.
Save it for the rats.
Archie has demanded that Sutherland sack you in return for his support in the confidence vote.
He won't do it.
Giving in to blackmail only makes you a prisoner of your blackmailer and he could never accept that.
- What? - You don't get to be Prime Minister without that little extra something.
That little extra something being an unquenchable thirst for the top job.
You can't want him out, as well.
Who else would have handled this crisis as he has? My previous concerns about him were alleviated slightly by his decisiveness at the barricades, I'll grant you that.
And what were your previous concerns? Oh, I'll save those for now.
It's your only hope.
I even suggested he replace Anna with you.
Best not say what his answer was.
I never told Ellie to lie to the police.
Not, you know, as such.
Explicitly.
Great.
But Rachel did.
And the PM knew about that? He tried to turn the other way especially when Anna was in the room which, as you know, is pretty much always.
So Rachel coached Ellie and the PM knew what was going on.
Of course he knew.
Rachel Sutherland said posh white girls shouldn't go to prison.
OK.
That's volcanic.
- I was shocked.
- Of course you were, Captain Renault.
- When are you going to run this? - Just before the confidence vote.
Give you time to draft your resignation letter.
I assume you'll be monitoring the conversation? You assume correctly.
He won't do it.
What happened to you, Edin? - The war happened.
- Oh, please.
It's not an excuse.
It's a fact.
You kill people.
Tess says you saved her life.
I could not stand by and watch them hurt your daughter.
Thank you for that.
I appreciate it has brought you considerable problems.
Like the annoying Welsh woman.
She's not so bad, really.
You get used to her.
Nothing else I told you was a lie.
- Take the offer.
- No.
- Why not? - I won't live like that.
At least it is living.
I will resolve matters back home, trust me.
Then I will go to my house on the mountainside and I'll sit under the fig trees among the butterflies, and I will wait for you to come.
- Don't go back.
- I have no choice now.
Life is just moments, Anna.
And ours have been such good ones.
I love you.
I have always loved you.
You have one new message.
Tick-tock, Robert.
Not long now until the confidence vote.
I'd like an answer on those personnel changes we discussed.
The ball's in your court.
You know where to find me.
It's all over the Internet, Mum.
It's literally everywhere.
Ellie, stop looking at them.
Rich white girls don't belong in prison.
I didn't even say that.
- I said they "fare badly".
- Ugh.
And the context was entirely different.
I was being ironic.
God, I wish I hadn't listened to you and Peter.
Well, I wish you hadn't served Class A drugs.
Then I wouldn't be looking at a prison sentence myself.
Oh, God, Ellie, sorry.
Look, of course it's not going to come to that.
Whatever Peter says, it's just gonna look like - he's just trying to save his own skin.
- Do you know what I wish, Mum? I just wish Georgia was still alive.
Peter turned.
We'll get through it.
Should I go and talk to her, do you think? I don't know.
Maybe just let her sleep.
I'll go.
- Ellie.
- Oh.
- You can shut them out, you know? - I can't, Dad, I can't.
Sweetheart, it's going to feel all right in the morning.
No, it's worse.
Every single morning, Dad, it's worse.
Change of sleeping plans.
We're gonna make like those times in Nairn.
Do you remember that? Remember those holidays? You were about four years old .
.
and got lost on the beach and you were crying because you couldn't find us - and we were there the whole time.
- We were right there.
We were right beside you.
And we had digestive biscuits for breakfast from a red packet.
It was just the three of us in that one room.
You remember that? Because I remember that.
They were the happiest days of my life.
We're here for you, sweetheart.
There's nobody but us now.
I literally cannot wait until I see her smug little face again.
Thank you so much for coming, Dominic.
I felt it was important that we cleared the air.
Thank you, Prime Minister.
Now, I assume you're aware that your return to Number 10 was contingent upon Archie supporting me - in the forthcoming confidence vote.
- Well, not in so many - Of course he knows.
- Of course he does.
It works for everyone, doesn't it? No-one is irreplaceable.
An excellent summary.
Good.
Coffee's here.
How do you take yours, Dominic? White, no sugar.
Do you? Do you, indeed? - I don't understand.
- He brought us all the way here just to tell us to go fuck ourselves.
- An excellent summary.
- Better call the removal men, Robert.
You can bring me down, Archie.
But you will never take my place.
You've always tried to exploit this crisis for your own shitty ends, not caring who gets hurt along the way.
And that is the worst kind of politician in my book.
So if you two want coffee, you can leave by the door you came through and fuck off to Starbucks.
OK, we're ready to give this a go.
But this is a first test, OK? I'm not promising anything.
OK, stand by.
You OK? I'm fine.
Eleanor James says you're going to sack me to save your career.
I'm not.
That's what I thought.
Make Parminder Home Secretary.
That's what I thought.
I think it's too soon.
The data isn't clear enough.
I should have given them more time.
I've rushed this.
They needed to run the final tests.
Oh, God.
Oh.
Er Wha Is it Are the police coming? What did he say? OK, things are going to be a bit wobbly at first, but, ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to report that power to the Red Zone has just been restored.
You did it, Fraser! You fucking did it.
You put the lights back on! - You kept your promise.
- Yes, I did.
I don't care about the confidence vote anymore.
This is all that matters.
Fuck off to Starbucks? Well, I would have been Prime Minister in name only.
And he would have made sure everyone knew it.
Plus, there's your undying loyalty to me.
Well, there's that, obviously.
Do you know what would be handy? If you could dig up a tape of Archie, in a brothel, dressed as an SS officer.
He'd probably put that on Instagram.
Yeah, should be something he'd be ashamed of, I guess.
Lights back on, he thinks it's all over.
Don't look now but his numbers are steadily climbing.
Let's see what happens when it's proved he lied to parliament, and his wife thinks she can escape justice because she is rich and white.
Your strategy for getting rid of Anna Marshall didn't go so well, did it? Plan B then.
Run it past me, just for my amusement.
Ensure the tabloids know she likes cavorting - with drug dealers and assassins.
- Not an option, don't go there.
Why the hell have you always got her back? Because she is a graceful soprano in a world of hairy-arsed baritones.
Pure as a little bell.
Unlike me you mean.
Oh, Archie, I love you dearly, but you're as pure as my dog's bowels after it devoured the Christmas cheese selection.
Now, while Team Sutherland don't know where the bodies are buried I certainly do, so the question I'd be asking myself right now is this, do I want to fall out with Eleanor? I hear they're lining up Parminder Haigh to replace you.
Course they bloody are.
Well, I hope she enjoys her week in the Home Office before Her Majesty is forced to choose a new Prime Minister.
You know what they say about a week in politics.
Fuck the confidence vote.
I'm going to the country anyway.
If they want an election, I'll give them one and I'll win.
The small matter of the fixed term parliaments act Then I'll abstain from the confidence vote.
I think the Chief Whip'd have something to say about that.
Fuck the Chief Whip.
You cannot just ask people to judge you on how you've handled the crisis.
You have to offer something new, something positive.
So you're my Chief of Staff.
Make a break with the past.
- Announce a wealth tax.
- What?! - Listen - You are joking, we're still the Conservative Party.
Announce a wealth tax to fund a solidarity scheme for victims of the storm.
People with gold taps on their yachts can afford it.
Say we are going to do things differently now.
Support diversity without being a box-ticking opportunist.
Be presidential, as you have been all through this crisis.
Then you can win.
You're right.
We can't go back to the way things were.
Francine Bridge has hinted that she might be open to a return to parliamentary politics.
I remain a mainstream social democrat whose core beliefs are fighting poverty and injustice through progressive reform.
There must surely be a party around that represents such values in these chaotic and dangerous times.
- Good morning, everyone.
- Good morning.
Our new Home Secretary Parminder Haigh - will be chairing the meeting.
- Welcome, Parminder.
Now, today will be our last daily COBRA, and I just wanted to thank you all for your tremendous efforts.
These last weeks have been horrendous and have led to both agonising decisions and terrible outcomes.
People have died.
I have been guided at all times by what I believe to be the national interest.
Now, as you are aware, there is a confidence vote this week.
That vote is now irrelevant.
I intend to call a general election and let the people pass judgement on our handling of this crisis.
A crisis that has cost so much and whose consequences will be felt for years.
Who do they trust to lead us through this difficult period that lies ahead? Fraser, I understand you have an update on the Red Zone.
So, we still have some voltage instability in the Red Zone, but the other zones are now fully operational.