The PM hesitated and looked across to the Speaker of the House. ‘This Government recognises that responsibility has to be taken for the disaster. The air has to be cleared to forestall any accusations that there might be in this House. I have accepted the resignations of the Home Secretary, a minister and two junior ministers in the Home Office. I will talk about their replacements shortly.’
This statement was met by gasps.
The PM continued resolutely. ‘I have also accepted resignations from all those public servants in charge of nuclear safety matters and the board members of the company responsible for running nuclear freight trains. My Cabinet has arranged for a number of senior executives from leading energy and industrial companies to be seconded to take their places in the short to medium term. I am pleased to report to the House that a distinguished former leader of an opposition party has agreed to work with the new Home Secretary, as the Home Office minister with responsibility for Homeland Security. He has put on hold all his private business activities and speaking engagements. Some might say that the Home Office is a poisoned chalice; others might view it as an opportunity. I am pleased that the former party leader takes the latter view.’
The PM paused and took a sip of water, looked at his watch, and continued. ‘I shall be announcing the details of my Cabinet reshuffle over the next twenty-four hours; this will include the name of the new Home Secretary and the other key ministers of State. I have not asked them yet, as many of them sit on the benches opposite me and today their role is to hold this Government to account. In picking the new members of the Cabinet, I have borne in mind that there is no substitute for real world experience. The pendulum has swung too far. Too many members of the Government have little or no experience outside the political arena. This is unhealthy and undesirable.’
The camera swung around the House. The brooding menace which had been in the air over the opposition benches had lessened. The inclusive proposals had taken those in the Chamber by surprise – so far so good.
Golden Sundancer had her fenders out on her port side. With a delicate touch, she was brought alongside the harbour wall about eighty metres across from Puddle Jumper. The captain and Basel were on the flybridge. The muscular frame of Dakka Dudayev, the Stratford terrorist, could be seen standing at the stern. The slight figure of Kim Chindriani, one of the recruiters of the bombers, was at the bow. They threw lines to the two heavies waiting at the edge of the harbour wall. The ropes were passed round heavy metal bollards and back on board. Bow and stern springs were attached and a gangway was put in place.
‘That leaves Sergy Kowshaya, the Chechen terrorist, and Alistair Hartnell, Basel’s number two, below deck,’ said Mark over the radio from the shadows of the harbour side. ‘What are the odds that they are suffering from seasickness?’
As if on cue, two very dishevelled and ashen-looking men stumbled on deck and walked shakily down the gangway to dry land, both dropping to their knees and kissing the ground.
‘Excellent, excellent,’ said a voice from the command centre. ‘Kowshaya definitely looks below par.’
Meanwhile, the retired commander, his wife and two daughters had come out onto the foredeck of Puddle Jumper to watch the arrival of their neighbour. Janet waved to the man standing on the harbour side by the bow of Golden Sundancer. Unnoticed, Clive and Jim slipped over the stern in their grey, lightweight wetsuits, and sleek air tanks strapped to their backs.
The command centre had briefed the two SBS men. ‘We’ve identified a blind spot, three to four metres from the stern of Golden Sundancer at her waterline, on her starboard side. Suggest you wait there.’
They slid out of sight below the water, hugged the harbour wall and quietly surfaced at the specified blind spot. They shed their air tanks and flippers, and waited for the signal that the coast was clear and it was safe to climb on board via the swimming platform. Sergy Kowshaya and Alistair Hartnell meanwhile had returned below deck.
The Prime Minister was now thirty minutes into his speech. He was talking about nuclear power and the importance of the UK being self-sufficient in energy terms. ‘The security of our energy supplies is crucial. In a modern society, energy is a cornerstone on which the foundations of a civilised way of life are built. We have suffered the devastating impact of a nuclear disaster. Maintaining the status quo is no longer an option. In the last Parliament a decision was taken which seemed to be the simplest and most convenient zero carbon option.’ He paused and looked around the House. ‘The go-ahead was given for?50 billion to be spent on a new generation of nuclear power stations for the 2020s. This, in hindsight, was rushed and did not address the scale of the risks involved… With nuclear power there is an infinitesimal probability of things going wrong, but when they do, the hazards are so extreme that they dwarf the benefits. The debate should have focused on how self-sufficiency could have been achieved without nuclear power… As things currently stand, in these times of terrorist threats, nuclear power has become too vulnerable, and too risky. However, it may still have a role to play, but only when the transportation, storage and security risks have been addressed, in a thoroughly uncompromising manner. Then and only then can it be brought back onto the agenda.’
The PM looked up at the camera. ‘With this in mind, a Ministry for Energy and Scarce Resources will be created. It will be tasked with moving forward energy savings, the development of sustainable and efficient renewable energy technology and the efficient use of this country’s energy resources. It will work with the Treasury and provide the stimuli required to make us use our existing natural resources wisely. The Treasury’s role will be central to our move to energy self-sufficiency and nuclear-free electricity generation. Accordingly, I have commissioned a report from a panel of experts on how Britain can deal with the impending fifty percent energy shortfall. Their detailed findings will be discussed by my new Cabinet, and we shall place our proposals before Parliament at the earliest opportunity.’
The PM paused, looked down at his watch and continued. ‘In particular, this panel is considering clean coal technology, carbon capture and sequestration techniques. The Victorians recognised the importance of sanitation and built a network of sewers to counter the threats of disease. We now recognise the threat of climate change. With this in mind, the panel is looking at the benefits of building a network of pipelines to collect carbon dioxide from the largest carbon polluters so that it can be stored cost-effectively underground.’ He rearranged his papers, looked at his watch again and continued. ‘British coal is an energy source steeped in political emotions. It transformed our country’s economy during the Industrial Revolution. It is a valuable resource which we have prematurely discarded. The country has a couple of hundred years of retrievable reserves and, unlike oil and gas where exporters act like a cartel, with coal there is a free market with over 100 countries exporting it. Clean coal will play an integral part in our future and our ability to become energy self-sufficient and environmentally responsible…’
A movement on the main screen caught Rafi’s eye and his attention shifted. The Air Chief Marshal was speaking to the SBS command centre.
News had just come in from the six SAS soldiers travelling to Safi. Two trucks had collided on the bridge at Azemmour, blocking the road to all traffic. Unexpectedly they were facing a slow 45 km detour via the next bridge upriver at Maachou and were likely to miss the party. Colonel Gray was not pleased.
The PM had moved on to a new topic. ‘On the Homeland Security front, we must of course ensure that coordinated attacks, as suffered on Friday, never happen again. Over the past few years the security associated with airport travel has been tightened up. However, the security associated with our land borders has been shown to be unfit for purpose. Our immigration rules and methods of identifying who is legitimately in this country and who is here illegally are too lax and seriously wanting. I am not a believer in identity cards nor in Orwellian Big Brotherstyle interference in people’s lives, however, the system must be improved.’