Episode #1.4

This programme contains some strong language and violence

You said that this was encrypted inside the BT malware?

Yeah.

Well, you have a date, a time and a place.

It looks like someone's sending us an invitation.

I think someone should go to Harrogate.

Me, if no-one else will.

OK.

And you better go with her. If it's Cyber World,

the FSB are gonna be there. It's likely one of their provocations.

It's got all the hallmarks.

According to our embassy in Moscow,

the lights have been flashing on and off in Putin's office.

What do you need?

The Jolly Roger?

He blames Russia for the attack

and he says that he's retaliating. Calls himself a "patriotic hacker".

..you speak good English, I think.

Do you wanna de-compress?

S-Sure.

It's not... It's not a good idea.

You're upset.

There is something you haven't found yet, something hidden.

What? There's nothing else - we've checked. Listen.

It's really dangerous. It could cause a war.

You can stop it. Look in the malware.

Please don't tell my name, not to anyone.

If they find out I told you this, they will kill me.

Danny can see us in 45.

I'll meet you there. We don't wanna be late.

I'll meet you there, OK?

Sure.

Hey, stranger. I thought you'd gone to Harrogate.

Just got back.

I'm on my way to work, but...

..I wanted to see you.

Great.

CHEERING

Go on, sir!

So, what was he like?

Like?

Yeah. What did you make of him?

SAARA CLEARS THROAT

Um...

..he was young. About my age.

Dressed in a hoody.

He was... He was frightened.

Like he was...

And you'd never seen him before?

No. Never.

What should we do?

About his warning?

Something else hidden in the code.

That's right.

What do you think?

I guess that I trust Saara's instincts. She's been right before.

Mm.

It feels like a provocation to me.

It's classic FSB mind games.

It's very vague.

Nothing specific, nothing we can use.

Resources are tight, you know.

I can't keep throwing people at this thing, you know,

Not without something concrete to go on.

Look, if you want to keep looking, that's fine, all right?

But in your own time, OK?

OK. I better run.

That's it? Apparently.

Hey. What?

Do you wanna get a drink after work?

Look...what happened in Harrogate -

it was a mistake, OK?

I don't usually drink alcohol and I...

It was a mistake. That's all.

Sure.

LIVELY CHATTER

How much do you know about what we do here?

Just what I've read online.

That we're Putin's poodle. A propaganda mouthpiece.

Of course the people who say that mostly work

for media billionaires and publish what they're told to publish.

So glass houses, wouldn't you say?

Or maybe you don't know that English expression? No, I know it.

Steve Cleary, one of our shooting producers.

Hi. Rad tebya videt. I'm afraid that's the only Russian I know.

Nice to meet you too.

You ready to get out there?

Now?

Sure. Why not? Just do what he says.

He knows what he's doing. More or less.

OK.

Are you Daz? That's right.

Thanks for coming. I'm Kathy. Can I join you?

Be my guest.

I'm told you were mentioned at Cobr recently.

Really?

Did they enjoy my Russian light show?

I think it got their attention.

And Putin's, probably. It's hard to undermine the free world

when the lights in your office are literally on the blink.

Apparently some people thought that it was us.

Is that right?

Well...

..you only have to ask.

Mm. You know what?

That is exactly what I've been sent to talk to you about.

I thought GCHQ didn't employ black hats.

Well, maybe not employ, exactly. More of an informal contribution.

On what basis?

On a patriotic basis.

That's how you describe yourself, isn't it?

Jolly Roger the Patriotic Hacker?

Even patriots get paid, Kathy.

I'm sure we can come to an arrangement.

SHOUTING

This is it? This is it.

Vote Labour. Vote Labour.

Vote Labour. Thanks very much. Cheers.

Put them on.

You're joking right?

No, I'm not joking.

I'm not in any danger.

Just do it, OK?

Who are they?

THEY SHOUT

Now.

I never thought I'd have to dress in full riot gear

here on the streets of the UK. But with this general election

just days away... GLASS SMASHES

Again.

I never thought I'd have to dress in full riot gear,

here on the streets of the UK.

But with this critical general...

..election just days away, confrontations like this

are becoming more and more common. GLASS SMASHES

There. That's great, with the glass breaking. Use that. Yeah.

We want an end to immigration.

But they don't care about democracy or free speech.

What's she saying?

"Only electing a white populist regime

"can put an end to this chaos," blah-blah-blah.

OK, great. We'll take that. Have you got a good end shot?

The girl.

Perfect. Great.

Upload that and e-mail me the metrics when they're in.

Great job, Marina.

Excuse me.

Angie.

Steve - how did he know?

Know what?

He gave me the riot gear before there was any violence.

He knew it was going to happen.

Did we organise that counter-demonstration?

We organised both of them.

What? Come on.

Right. Facebook page for Luton For Labour,

set up seven months ago, by us.

We tweet about it with our fake accounts

and then the bots retweet it thousands of times.

And then like-minded people sign up.

So it doesn't exist, Luton For Labour? You made it up?

Well, it exists, on this page. It's got 96 members.

And here's the message in the diary about today's event.

Put there by you?

That's right.

OK? And here's the Facebook page

for Take Back Control Of Luton,

a fascist group that think it's time we went back to the 1930s,

also set up by us.

And here's a message about a protest today,

at the same time, on the same street.

So they all turn up,

completely unaware there's gonna be a rival group,

and then as soon as they see each other, they clash.

There's no need for us to provoke on the ground.

If we've attracted the right kind of people,

it'll kick off of its own accord.

So it's all made up. The whole thing.

Well, I prefer "managed".

But what's the point of reporting something

that's so obviously fake news?

Look, you need to forget all your previous experience

as a journalist, OK? Whether it's faked isn't the point.

I mean, everything that's reported is fake, one way or another.

We know people won't believe it.

It probably contradicts what we said yesterday. It doesn't matter.

The point is to get people used to the idea that everything's a lie,

that there is no truth.

And once they accept that...

..well, biggest liar wins.

Shit.

KNOCKING

Oh, Christ!

ELECTRICAL HUMMING

Where did you get all this stuff?

Back of a skip.

When they were clearing out... Oakley.

Is that for Morse code?

Mm-hm.

I'm... I'm sorry. I'm interrupting your meal.