Original subtitles

The following programme contains strong language,

and scenes which some viewers may find distressing.

The bodies of two RAF pilots have been found shot dead

outside a pub in Lincolnshire.

The government has convened a meeting of the emergency COBRA

committee to discuss the incident.

There have been some very worrying events.

Two RAF pilots shot dead.

A malware attack.

And we now have a Russian spy ship called the Orlan

in our territorial waters.

It is under surveillance from HMS Loughborough.

The Russians will exploit this.

They are playing the victims in this.

This was a deliberate act.

Sirs, we have projectiles in the direction of the Loughborough.

That looks like a torpedo.

We have a second one.

Impact. Impact.

Impact on feed. Oh my God.

This attack on the HMS Loughborough, this is unequivocally an act of war.

That's been updated.

The ships need to expedite, get themselves a heading.

Before we put any other assets in there, we need to know-

I'm afraid I can't comment on it.

Start thinking about potential headlines that could come up.

If I may, there are some images coming through

which you may want to watch.

HMS Loughborough has been hit by a torpedo

which will have come from a Russian submarine.

I don't know how many Russian submarines are in the area.

We're trying to find out, but there won't just be one.

Sir, I've got rescue helicopters in the air circling.

OK. A rescue operation ongoing.

Anticipate large scale loss of life.

Can I ask you, how many people do we have on that ship?

What is the plan to rescue as many of our citizens

from the North Sea as is possible?

There were 185 people on board that ship.

There's a rescue in progress. But, um, Loughborough,

from being hit to sinking,

two minutes, 45 seconds.

The British public don't know about this yet.

Our sailors are currently fighting for their lives in the North Sea.

This is a tragedy.

That Russian submarine has committed an act of war.

There are British sailors who are dead

as a direct result of that.

It's unprecedented.

We need to know as quickly as possible where that submarine is.

And we also need to find out

if this is just one hunter-killer submarine

or if it is part of a broader pack

ready to launch a far more menacing attack on the UK.

Prime Minister,

satellite coverage reveals that about a week ago,

four Russian submarines left the Kola Peninsula,

which is where the Russian Northern Fleet is based.

And two days subsequently to that

were picked up heading into the North Sea.

Now, if you plot this, it would bring them into the Pentland Firth

at the time of the attack on the Loughborough.

Prime Minister, we must have a retaliation

to Loughborough that will be recognised as a retaliation

and we need to be considering sinking their submarine.

Prime Minister, I'm going to be really blunt.

We mustn't lose sight of the imperative of de-escalating this.

Let me be clear.

Nothing. Nothing is off the table.

But now other British service people's lives are at risk.

Find the submarines ASAP.

Yes, Prime Minister.

CDS. OK.

This is Watchkeeper.

And pass on to Asset Juliet Mike-

I have no picture, no audio. No picture, no audio.

To find the Russian submarine,

we need to task a P-8 long-range reconnaissance aircraft.

These are armed with torpedoes capable of striking a submarine

up to a depth of around 450m.

How quickly could we do that?

Aircraft ETA is 30 minutes out.

You've got the live feed. I've got live feed.

No change to live feed at the moment.

Holding a steady course.

If you don't know where submarines are, it's a tricky business.

You get hold of a submarine and then you have to keep a track on it.

And as you lose it,

you expand the circle of where it could be.

At the moment, those circles are huge.

If we give P-8 free rein,

it will fucking find it and search it or kill it

or whatever it's carrying. Drop as much as it has to.

Yeah.

Once they find this submarine,

did they have permission to engage it and sink it?

My view

is that we must retaliate to make a material difference

to the mindset in Moscow

and get the Russians to back off.

I think some of the cabinet will be reluctant

to see the situation escalating,

but I will be pushing them to respond with military force.

How big is the London Eye?

100ft.

Oh my God.

So, are you excited to go on the London Eye?

Yeah. What do you know about it?

It spins round and round very, um, slow like.

And when you're at the top, you're like, ah.

Let me do one more.

No, these ones have to go over here.

Sorry.

As if the news couldn't get any more mental.

Like- Like we need any more drama going on in our lives.

Ange Mukherjee, our UK defence and security expert is with us.

Great to have you back on DefenceCast, Ange.

Great to be here. Much to discuss.

What's your take on the current situation with Russia?

It's clearly a tragic accident,

even though the Russians are calling it a deliberate act

of military aggression by the UK.

Remember, they're saying this publicly,

but they'll also be back channelling to America and other NATO members

to manipulate the narrative, isolate the UK.

They'll also create a false flag for whatever their next move might be.

OK, so false flag, a phoney pretext to paint the UK

as the villain, right? Exactly right.

We haven't yet told the public about the Loughborough.

We have got to get a grip on framing the narrative

before the Russians make a statement.

100%. We must have a press conference

at the earliest possible opportunity.

It would be critical, of course, to use it as a platform

because the world will be listening.

Yes. This is not just information that we're giving out

to our own citizens.

There's a very important diplomatic, global audience

that we are trying to influence.

Prime Minister, our messaging should be that with support

from other NATO nations,

we are prepared to strike back

until they send signals

that they are de-escalating the situation.

Can I also respectfully disagree?

I think we have to be careful that we're not, you know,

speaking in a way that seems the language of war.

So right now, the only information in the public domain,

albeit from the Russian state,

has branded the UK as the aggressor.

We need to get the world on our side.

Last couple of points. I don't want the Russians to think-

I'm very conscious of time. We have got to get out and communicate.

I think the director of comms and I should,

with your permission, Prime Minister, leave the meeting.

- Let me sum up briefly. Can I just make a point? - No.

The use of the wrong language can seem unnecessarily

jingoistic on our part.

As though we are relishing this conflict

when it is the last thing that we want.

We must have that in mind.

So the Deputy Prime Minister will do the delicate work

of delivering that press conference.

That is critical.

Good luck.

So we have a draft statement which starts with

the sinking of the HMS Loughborough.

Well, I need to see... Yes.

You're welcome to sit down. Thanks.

The journalists are arriving now.

There needs to be a bit more human expression of, you know, sorrow

and everything in this.

If I can get a printed copy this,

I can do some of this tweaking myself.

OK, you've still got time for autocue. Ten minutes.

It will be literally within the next few minutes.

And maybe they just needed more time to do this.

- They said they just need a few more minutes. - OK.

Let's get out now.

Do you mind just giving us two seconds?

Is that alright? Sorry.

OK.

Uh, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for coming here today.

Just to give you an outline of what's going to happen,

we're going to have an address from the Deputy Prime Minister,

and then there will be an opportunity for questions.

Thank you.

Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for attending.

It is my grave duty today to advise you that in the last few hours,

HMS Loughborough has been sunk

by torpedo strikes from a Russian submarine.

Unfortunately,

I can confirm that 141 of the 185

servicemen and women on board have been killed.

This is the largest loss of British military life

in a single day since the Second World War.

There are now 141 homes across our country

where temporary absence has become final,

where photographs that sit on mantelpieces have become memorials.

To those families, let me say this, you are all in our thoughts,

but you do not grieve alone.

The whole nation grieves with you.

I want to ask people to remain calm,

to go about your daily lives as normal.

What happens now requires the clearest judgement.

We did not choose this situation,

but we cannot turn away from it.

That responsibility will guide every decision the government takes

in the hours and days ahead.

We will open now to some questions from the media.

Um, Lucy Fisher, Financial Times.

Deputy Prime Minister,

do you plan to strike back against the Russian submarine

that sank HMS Loughborough?

Obviously, the UK government is considering all options.

Our first and foremost priority is the defence of the country,

and attacks on our country will not be tolerated.

But it is in all our interests not to escalate the situation,

but to try to deescalate in the interests of our people.

Adam Fleming. Can I pose a question to the CDS?

Yes, of course. Um, as the head of our armed forces,

do you have the resources you need right now to defend the UK,

to defend this country from any further attacks?

As the head of the Armed Forces, I have the resources I have right now.

And we're doing the very best with that

to be ready for whatever may happen next.

Gordon.

Do you have any reason to believe that Russia might be preparing

more military action?

Because I think the public might be asking how worried should they be?

We're part of NATO, and so we expect to be in a place

where the UK armed forces are working with our NATO partners

in deterring Russia.

Yes. Jane Mulkerrins, The Times.

Does Russia view us as a soft target at this point?

The decades of defence cuts leave us something of a sitting duck now.

Look, whatever Russia might think or want people to perceive

is one thing.

But any attack on the UK has consequences for our allies.

And so we will seek to work with our allies

and seek to de-escalate the situation.

Are we now at war with Russia?

Look, the language of war has been used by Russia.

The UK has not chosen to be in this situation,

and the UK government does not intend to do anything

that plays into the hands of Russia.

Thank you. Thank you very much,

ladies and gentlemen. We will be keeping you fully abreast.

We'll be having regular press briefings and of course,

you can contact the press office. Thank you very much.

I think it's a very difficult balance, obviously,

between transparency and reassurance.

Very probing questions.

And, you know, I think it was really exemplary.

Nicola, thank you. You handled that brilliantly.

Jesus Christ. I'm 29 years of living.

I don't feel like I've seen news like this.

Like, this is not something that's supposed to happen in our lifetime.

This is supposed to be something we learn about in history.

'141 homes across our country,

where temporary absence has become final,

where photographs that sit on mantel pieces.'

Come on, daddy, come on.

What? I want to go on the London eyes.

Alright. OK, OK, OK. Go get your shoes.

Whatever the situation is,

can we just figure out how to de-escalate this, please?

So Ange, this is a devastating turn of events.

141 British sailors dead. This is a tragedy.

It's horrendous.

And our thoughts are with all of those who have lost loved ones.

Russia has used this sinking of the Orlan

to justify attacking a British warship,

and the Kremlin will be watching like a hawk.

They'll be waiting to see how we respond

and who rallies to our defence.

This isn't just about us.

It's a test of the NATO alliance as a whole.

Could be going east.

I'm just drafting a line in case the phone rings.

It's on the top of our holding line.

This is a live continuing threat,

and we need to have a very fast tempo.

So, Prime Minister, by far the most important conversation

we need to have right now is with NATO.

The air defence of the UK is meant to be a NATO wide operation,

which relies on our allies integrated air and missile defence,

including the US.

Surely, if this looks like a predetermined and pre-planned

Russian operation,

this is article five territory, isn't it?

Just very quickly, it strikes me

that the only time that article five has been called for

or enacted was after 9/11,

when the UK came immediately to the United States defence,

as did other NATO countries.

Thank you Chris. Absolutely right.

The foundation stone of our security for decades now

has been, not just our membership of NATO,

but the principle of article five,

that an attack on one is an attack on all.

Foreign Secretary, Defence Secretary,

we need to speak to the NATO Secretary General now.

So how do you want to play this?

We have to confirm we can count on them through article five.

This is a critical conversation.

Good morning, Secretary-General.

Lovely to speak to you.

You'll be aware that the United Kingdom

is under concerted attack.

Are you confident that you can persuade our NATO allies,

including the President of the United States,

to convene an article five meeting?

I can assure you that the NATO alliance

takes this provocation

extremely seriously,

but I have to tell you, unfortunately,

at the moment, the United States of America

is reserving its position.

And without them on side,

it's difficult to obtain the consensus that will be required,

especially for an article five declaration.

That is very disappointing.

That means that the decades long,

effective deterrent that NATO has been, has failed.

You, sir, need to see this as an opportunity.

Otherwise, the legacy of your watch is going to be war.

You will know only too well,

that until the United States of America changes their position,

the alliance as a whole is unable to make a move.

Thank you for your efforts.

It is very clear that we must change the view of the United States

to get the best outcome.

Thank you very much, Secretary General.

Thank you sir.

Without the Americans,

we're fighting with one hand behind our back.

We might be absolutely fucked.

We stood by these people for years.

That is devastating news.

And it leaves the United Kingdom in a very difficult position.

But I think we need to go to the white House

and to see how that channel is developing.

I just make the obvious point.

You have to persuade them to change their minds.

Historically, we've always had a strong relationship

with the United States.

We need to remind them why we've always been such staunch allies.

The President is a capricious individual,

but I think that if I can speak to him myself,

I'm pretty confident

that he'll live up to his responsibilities within NATO.

Have you seen this?

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen,

We'll be keeping you fully abreast.

We'll be having regular press briefings.

And of course, you can contact the press office.

We're only in this fucking mess

because that big fucking baby's. taking orders from Russia.

It's as if it's caught on her microphone.

It's going viral right now. Yeah.

We're getting a lot of comments online about the video.

Yeah. I mean, they're all just kind of like, I hate this government.

I've never felt less safe.

This isn't good.

First from other sources about what has happened.

I think the public-

Deputy Prime Minister, I'm very sorry to interrupt,

but a very important development has happened.

There is a very unhelpful clip circulating.

I'd like to play it for you now.

We're only in this fucking mess

because that big fucking baby's taking orders from Russia.

This is going absolutely viral across the world right now.

Can I ask a really uncomfortable question?

I shouldn't have to ask. That is not me.

It definitely wasn't said. It definitely wasn't said.

It definitely wasn't. Definitely was not said.

This is a deep fake piece of misinformation...

...but this is gaining a lot of traction.

There's a lot of people believing it to be true.

The president of the United States, if we don't act quickly,

we'll respond to this and this will escalate.

This is a situation that could very, very quickly run out of control

and break the relationship with the United States.

It only underlines the importance

of talking to the White House as soon as possible.

I thought it actually was you.

For a moment thought, "Did I actually see that?"

So immediately when you see and hear something that,

you know, to all intents and purposes is you,

- that's your first instinct. Did I say that. - Crazy?

Uh...

The president of the United States has posted.

The fact that POTUS is responding

at that point, this becomes a diplomatic issue

that is not for us to deal with.

Can I bring you an update?

The president of the United States has tweeted

in response to the deep fake video.

He has said, "My advice to the UK, if you want US protection,

don't TRASH talk." "Trash" in capital letters.

"Now get to the back of the line."

It has gone very big on social media.

This is as much a part of the Russian's war play

- as sinking a ship. - Absolutely.

It's entirely, you know, designed to divide,

confuse, incite division.

And we really need to be careful

- we don't allow ourselves to be dragged down. - Yeah.

We know the president is deeply angered

by this so-called hot mic scandal.

I mean, what are the Brits doing over there?

They're talking about deep fakes.

They're talking about Russian cyber warfare.

What I'm not hearing is, "We're sorry."

Our president is a proud man.

If the UK want our help with Russia right now,

I suggest they try a bit of humility.

After this hot mic incident

the president is furious...

...and he won't take your call.

Astound... astounding.

Very bad. Yes. Yeah.

I can speak to my US opposite number,

US Secretary of State. He probably is more reasonable.

Please, Jim. Thank you.

Hello, Secretary of State.

You and I have always been honest with each other.

Yeah. I gotta interrupt you.

What's going on over there?

And what is the story with this hot mic situation?

Um, I mean, we heard it.

We heard every word. You know, the baby orders from Moscow.

I'm going to let you sit with the fact

that the president of the United States is furious.

Understood.

Just to cut through all the bullshit then.

This isn't real.

Perception is reality in politics.

OK, the president thinks it's real.

- Yeah. - OK.

He's responded to it like it's real.

Uh, and whatever you're about to say about deep fakes,

the president believes it.

OK? So that's the only audience that matters right now.

Look, I know Nicola Sturgeon. I've known her for years.

I know she didn't say this.

I know she doesn't think this.

If you want help here, we have to get the president back on side.

I get that. So I would really welcome your advice

because we can't apologise for Russian disinformation.

If you're saying to me it's a deep fake, I believe you.

The problem is not me.

He doesn't believe you.

We were this close to getting him to call you guys.

What we want is a de-escalation.

I need you to keep your powder dry.

I'm asking you,

I'm imploring you for patience.

And I will talk to the president

because we don't want to escalate this.

I'm going to hop. Let's reconvene after you guys regroup.

- Thank you. Cheers. - Thank you.

Prime Minister, I wish I could bring you happier news.

The Secretary of State said that the president remains angry.

The only guidance he gave was an appeal for de-escalation.

I don't want to put it too finely, but without the Americans,

we're in a hole that we have never planned for.

We're now in a very different world

where America is not just capricious,

but may actively be working against our interests.

To all intents and purposes, NATO as a functioning alliance

is dead in the water right now.

We're in this setting which we never expected to be in,

where we're standing alone.

We need to be aware if we start getting phone calls,

they will already be asking for our response.

As in like us attacking Russia?

So you can just say we can't comment on the operational details

and we'll provide updates in due course.

Right now, we look weak on the world stage, beaten up by Moscow.

And what's worse is we're certainly not on the best of terms

with the American president.

The Russians will see us as vulnerable.

- Isolated. - Yes, exactly.

I mean, if America isn't supporting us and we do retaliate

for the sinking of the Loughborough, the Russians are worried,

might feel emboldened to escalate.

If there is a military response,

I think it will be something the UK hasn't had to endure

for over 80 years, and none of us will be ready

for the scale of that kind of crisis, will we?

You having a nice time, sweetheart? Yeah.

What can you see.

That's water. Seagulls.

I want someone to tell me,

"Chill, it's fine.

We're going to have a sit down, mature adult conversation

and discuss this further."

Like adults in power should do.

But I don't feel like that's going to happen.

I mean, I hate the thought of war,

but I feel like the government's going to have to,

uh, retaliate in some way

because, you know, Russia cannot get away with doing that.

I can't even believe I'm talking like this.

Stingray 2-5 to watch team.

Stingray 2-5 to watch team. Acknowledge, over.

Sir.

Incoming comms from P-8.

Where's the P-8?

In the central Norwegian Sea.

Still making fire. Confirmed.

Tracking and bearing 050.

Repeat bearing 050.

Standing by for further.

CDS, sorry to interrupt.

I've got a P-8 has located

the submarine that sunk the Loughborough.

It has a firing solution.

It can take out the submarine, but it has to strike now.

So the aircraft knows where the submarine is now and is circling it.

That puts the aircraft at some risk.

- Yes. - If you want that submarinesunk, it's now.

I think you must, Prime Minister.

It is the vessel that hit the Loughborough.

It's the most appropriate response that we have

that is likely to be clear

about why we're doing it and therefore not escalate.

Defence Secretary, we're already trying to navigate NATO

with America sitting on the fence.

We know that we cannot retaliate in anger.

Not only would it lose us diplomatic goodwill,

if we take these actions,

we are, in effect, in a state of war with Russia.

But is it a fair assumption for us to make

that while they will retaliate if we sink their submarine,

they're not going to simply back off and say that is it

if we do nothing. No, no.

Doing nothing, in my opinion, isn't an option.

I've spent far too much the last 25 years

living in the Russian leadership's heads.

My conclusion has been if we don't respond,

then it will just get worse.

This is the way they are. Like with all bullies.

If you punch them hard,

you know, they're likely to move off and pick on someone else.

We've got to take decisive action.

The way it will escalate

is if we sit back and make excuses for not acting.

Therefore, I think the idea of sinking the submarine is essential.

In several decades of looking at the Russian problem,

if presented with weakness, they'll exploit it,

they will respond and it will hurt,

but they're going to do it anyway.

It'll be more than the Orlan wreck.

So we're introducing some balance into this contest if we do this.

But it's going to be painful either way.

- Aisha. - We've just had a statement tothe public from the Russians.

They are saying that they are signalling intent

to send three warships into UK territorial waters.

They indicate that any obstruction of their warships

will be considered a continuation of hostile actions.

So we have not retaliated yet, Prime Minister,

and they are escalating.

The danger in a situation like this,

when we're round a table like this,

is that we expect closure.

We expect at some point there to be a moment,

a ceasefire, a closing, a neat and tidy ending.

That is not going to happen in this situation

unless we take decisive military action and retaliate.

Let me, first of all, check with the Attorney General

to see what the legal position is on the strike.

The legal position is clear.

There's no legal barriers for us taking this decision.

The only question I have is, do we have any sense of how many people

will be on board?

You should assume in rough numbers about 80 casualties.

That doesn't materially alter the legal position, Ange, does it?

These are not civilians. No. Thank you.

I'm sorry, Prime Minister, but I must push you for an answer.

We have to brace ourselves for an escalation from Russia.

But that escalation is already coming.

We can't afford to wait any longer

for the Americans to do the right thing.

We've either got to force them or live with the consequences.

We have to strike back.

Prime Minister, I'm going to issue that instruction now.

I can't reverse it

once I've gone out of this room and issued the instruction.

- I'm going to do this right now. Thank you. - That's it.

OK. Prime Minister and the cabinet

have considered this.

Sink the submarine. Do it now.

Yep.

And then we're gonna have to cope with the escalation.

Can you tell me when it's done?

And then we're looking for the immediate signs

of a Russian response.

Watch team to Stingray 2-5. Clear to engage.

Acknowledged. Clear to engage.

I mean, sinking one of those subs is about as aggressive as it gets.

Instructions passed.

Weaponed armed and in the bay. 20 seconds to drop.

Copy.

Weapon away. Clear of aircraft.

Weapon in the water.

Weapon ahead, running.

Torpedo inbound on target.

500m from target.

Sonar buoys indicate impact.

Repeat, sonar buoys indicate impact.

It appears target's been destroyed, sir.

So on that basis...

Sorry, sir.

The P-8 has successfully engaged the submarine. No survivors.

Because the situation is escalating potentially so quickly,

Aisha, can you prepare

the opportunity for me to broadcast to the nation within the hour?

Yes. I cannot stress this enough.

We're safe here, for the time being.

It will be them out in the country

absolutely terrified about what's going to happen.

Yes.

It'd be critical, of course, to provide public reassurance

because we know this determined escalation that is coming.

With your permission, Prime Minister, I'm going to update

our allies on what's just happened.

Prime Minister, I'm going to go and prepare the press office

for your address to the nation.

Hello. Government press office.

Government will release all of its information-

I see. The Prime Minister will be addressing the nation soon.

I can't comment on the operation details at the moment.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Are we good to go?

I want to address you directly tonight

because our nation is under attack.

We are facing a sustained assault

on our way of life, our safety and our freedom.

Hey, Lily. What's that?

The London Eye!

Hurray! We're at the London Eye!

It is my duty to defend and protect this country from attack.

That is why our armed forces have been in action already.

To counter this threat to all of us.

This morning, our forces attacked

and succeeded in sinking the Russian submarine

which was responsible for the attack on the Loughborough.

This is a very grave step for any country,

but the decision we took was necessary,

proportionate and legal.

We must prepare for Russia to hit back.

And already, the government is doing everything possible

to prepare our country and to make it safer.

Absolutely at no point will I be going to war.

So please do not drag me into your beef.

And unfortunately, it's just not my fucking problem.

Things are only gonna get worse.

We're literally against Russia. We didn't need to beef Russia.

Now we're beefing Russia for what reason?

Like, it's like the UK don't learn, bro.

We're putting ourselves in danger.

My granddaughter's come out of school today,

and she told me that they've been practising in case they get bombed.

So in high school today

they've been hiding under tables.

How are the people of the nation?

What is going on?

Say it. We are at war now.

We will fight for freedom

with all the determination

of a truly great country

and we will prevail.

We know that Russia will respond and Russia's capacity to respond

in terms of missile strikes, drone strikes,

aircraft attacks

is significantly greater than our ability to fend them off.

Yes, we need to consider

where we put the few assets we have

that can deal with air attacks.

So where we are right now, first of all,

we only have four available

ground-based Sky Sabre missile systems.

We need them to protect our critical airfields and fighter jets,

but they only have a range of about 25km.

So if we use them to protect these airfields,

which we must, it will compromise our ability

to defend the UK's cities.

Our only major defence assets

which are capable of shooting down long-range ballistic missiles

are the Type 45 destroyers.

But right now

in our waters, we only have one that's operational.

It's not great, is it?

We've got a huge availability problem here,

and it's just decades' worth of under-resourcing.

We need to present this to cabinet.

I think the main effort for us now

is to focus on what we do next,

how we protect the UK.

So we must now assume the UK will be put under attack from the air.

- Yes. - I think Russia'smilitary priority

will be Faslane - independent nuclear deterrent base.

Our only available Type 45 destroyer

can intercept ballistic missiles to a range of 120km.

The vessel is currently stationed off the west coast of Scotland,

protecting Faslane.

I strongly advise it stays where it is,

protecting that nuclear capability.

I don't want to dwell on this point unnecessarily, but just one vessel.

This may not be the time to rehearse this argument,

but we asked for 12 Type 45 destroyers.

Six were bought.

The money exists to sustain, in action, three at any one time,

and we have one ready right now.

And therefore, we have to accept

that many major cities and towns will be at risk.

We will be relying on our fighter jets to protect them,

and they don't deal with ballistic missiles.

So in crude terms,

anyone who imagines that there's anything like the Israeli Iron Dome

over the United Kingdom is deluding themselves.

- Oh, yes. - But can I just ask for usto consider a strategy

where we decide to protect human life and not weapons.

May I come back on that? Yes.

We obviously are focussed on protecting lives.

And if we do not have a deterrent,

um, that is going to be an extremely difficult situation

and could lead -

and I would say likely to lead -

to catastrophic loss of life.

I hear that. We are in a situation right now

where we have a nuclear deterrent.

It's not deterring Russian action,

and we are isolated because- It is deterring

what it is designed to deter, which is the use of nuclear weapons

in one form or another against the United Kingdom.

It is the only deterrent that we have.

I think it's really important, though, that in these discussions

we challenge ourselves.

I completely agree.

It is uniquely difficult

given how tight and scarce our resources are,

to ensure that we can defend every civilian life

at a time like this.

But if we don't protect Faslane,

a key element of our nuclear deterrent would then be compromised.

Therefore, I do authorise

the Type 45 to remain where it is.

It's in the right location.

It should stay where it is.

Radar alert. One cruise missile picked up

heading towards... south east of England.

That's missile two, cruise missile.

What is that?

What the fuck was that?

Jesus Christ.

I have absolutely no idea what that was.

Hey, Lulu. Look.

It's where we were. You see?

Let's go.

Lulu!

Stop!

My God! Run!

Oh, my God!

Daddy!

Cruise missile picked up.

And another. And another.

Impact. Impact. Impact.

Oh, my God.

Total of 38 deaths, 231 further casualties.

People in this country, they've never seen anything like this.

What should we be doing?

The only thing we can do is to strike back.

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