They wouldn't be disappointed.
The revelations would be momentous and life changing.
***
Lord Irvine of Nelson, newly installed First Minister of the British Government strode confidently through the central passageway to the front of the conference hall, where his PPS, Phillip Singh, sat at a table set for six. As Singh stood, Lord Irvine took his seat followed by the Triumvirate and waited patiently for the hubbub to die down. Heavily armed soldiers stood at five-metre intervals around the perimeter of the hall.
There must have been over five hundred members of the world’s press corps present, representing almost every nation on earth. The front three rows were filled with Presidents and Prime Ministers from all of the major powers, including the USA, Russia, China, France, Germany, Brazil, India, Japan and Australia.
Several of these leaders knew what was coming and had already given their tacit approval and/or blessing. They were here to support Lord Irvine when the expected uproar began.
What he had to say was earth shattering. It was unprecedented in recent modern European history, and nothing really like it had been suggested or implemented since 1945.
However, there were more contemporary precedents – and the division and reconstitution of the Balkans in the nineties was a powerful argument for Lord Irvine’s proposals.
Front and centre sat Prince Charles with his sons William and Harry. They too, knew the subject on the agenda and had no option but to submit. In reality, the monarchy as Britain knew it was finished.
The audience settled and after the flash photography finally ceased, the First Minister rose to his feet.
‘Your Royal Highnesses, Presidents, Prime Ministers, members of the press, my lords, ladies and gentlemen, welcome. If I've missed anybody, my sincere apologies.
Now, to begin.
You will all be well acquainted with the catastrophic disaster that has over taken the United Kingdom during the past five months. The snow, subsequent thaw and flood has caused untold – and some might say – irreparable damage to our once great nation.’
The audience sat in enraptured silence. Except for the odd click of an electronic camera, not a sound could be discerned.
‘The governmental structure instilled by my predecessor and his allies has failed. The impetus to create a recovery and eventual return to inhabit the UK was a forlorn hope. We now realise that this was always impossible. Certainly within our lifetimes.
Why so, you might ask?
I can explain in simple but inescapable terms:
More than forty feet of snow fell over a three-week period.
This was followed by the inevitable thaw and flood, which caused greater damage than the snow, and continues to do so.
As a result there is no power; no communication system; no banking system or sources of income; no commerce or industry; little usable shelter; no food; no drinking water – no infrastructure of any kind.
If this wasn’t bad enough, there are almost fifty million corpses lying amongst the filthy, corrupted waters flowing ever towards the sea. Add to this countless rotting animal carcases, and you can surely reach the same unavoidable conclusion.’
He paused momentarily for effect:
‘Nothing of value remains. Our heritage, the records of our government, of our proud history, art, literature, sporting achievements, engineering and culture have all been washed away.
The nation has been reduced to a filthy, diseased sludge.
The very idea of re-habitation is anathema.
It will take us fifty years or more just to dispose of the bodies. Disease is breeding in all its virulent forms – dysentery, cholera, botulism, typhoid, malaria, polio, SARS and bubonic plague.
We have to start again. We have no choice.
Regretfully, we have to abandon the old country, and positively address ourselves to the future. Perhaps one day, someone with a greater vision will devise a plan to go home…but for now, the decision has been made to abandon the UK.
Consequently, it is a no-go area.
Our armed forces will impose a naval and aerial blockade.
All persons and nations within the sound of my voice – both physically and electronically should take note:
The UK is out of bounds to all non-authorised personnel and vehicles. The United Kingdom Armed Forces will use summary deadly force to repel attempted invasion of any kind.
You have been warned!’
Some of the audience reacted aggressively to this statement and some reporters attempted to ask questions. Phillip Singh quickly cut them short.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, please settle down. The First Minister will permit questions at the end of his address. Please allow him the courtesy to finish.’
The clamour of calls for answers slowly subsided as Lord Irvine waited for complete silence before standing and continuing.
‘Now, ladies and gentlemen, we have been forced to make one heart-rending decision, which will have its inevitable consequences. I have been engrossed in lengthy and complex talks with the political leaders of the USA, Russia, China, Germany and France. The IMF has also been privy to our deliberations.
We asked ourselves how the British people are to go forward. We cannot remain in Brussels, as generous as the Belgian people have been, they have their own lives to consider. We have already resettled tens of thousands of our citizens across the globe, and we sincerely thank every nation who has assisted us in this way. However, this is not going to be a permanent solution for many of those people. Thousands have been thrust into strange and foreign cultures and will never settle. We must devise a way for these people to return home.
We must give them hope and we must give them a choice.
But first of all, we must give them a home to return to.’
More clamour from the press; more questions and it was several minutes before Phillip Singh was able to restore order.
‘Home. It is a concept we can all appreciate. We all need roots and a secure future. Many of our citizens have lost everything. Family, possessions, property, savings, employment – everything they valued and worked all of their lives for. In essence, our children now have no future.
Well, ladies and gentlemen I am here today to reveal a cohesive and viable plan to give our people a new home – and I would like to introduce Monsieur Marcel Zadou, Chief Minister of the Breton region of France; Brittany as we British know it.’
At this point, M. Zadou joined the five on stage and took his seat next to Lord Irvine. The audience was perplexed.
‘What the hell was going on?’ many were asking.
The speech continued as a huge map of Brittany appeared on a screen, which had dropped down behind and above Lord Irvine’s head:
‘The plan, ladies and gentlemen is this. Brittany has long been the historical and spiritual home of the British. Indeed, we share the same name. You will also be aware that Brittany - or Breton – was once fully independent of France, and under the second empire in 1871 was drawn closer to France against its will. In 1956 in was formally reconstituted into France, but only four of its five departments remained in the Breton administrative region. Nantes was pushed into the Pays de la Loire. Many Bretons opposed this move and to this day many more Bretons insist that ‘Breton is NOT France!’ It is with this in mind that we forwarded our proposals. And, may I add, it is with absolutely no malice towards the great nation of France that I make these suggestions.
Before I continue, you must further understand that the millions of displaced Britons cannot wander endlessly around Europe and the rest of the world. They will cause resentment, political and financial unrest and social and cultural issues, which will eventually induce problems of an insoluble magnitude.
Therefore, we must act now.
Decisively.
For the greater good.
The argument has flaws. The plan is not perfect, but it is a feasible option upon which the major international players are agreed. Some more w
illingly than others.’
At this juncture, he glanced down briefly at the French President.
‘The object of the scheme is to provide a home for the British people and restore full independence to a once proud and historic nation state – Brittany.
It has been agreed that France will allow Brittany full independence – both culturally and financially from the first of January next year – and that in return, the Breton people will allow the British people to resettle in their new country.’
To a man, the press corps instantly rose to its feet and bombarded the podium with a cacophony of questions, objections and even some approvals! Lord Irvine sat down and waited for calm, which took a full fifteen minutes. There was pandemonium throughout the audience. It was the news story of the century, and many correspondents rushed from the hall to file stories. However, this was probably unnecessary, as every TV and radio station around the world was carrying the speech live.
M. Zadou, the leading Breton politician stood up and held his arms aloft, calling for calm so that he could continue. His English was fluent as he took over the address:
‘Your Royal Highnesses, ladies and gentlemen, please let me continue. This decision has not been taken lightly. All the affected parties have been consulted, and agree that this is the most sensible course of action. We in Breton have empirical evidence by way of a referendum taken only last year, when 81.6% of the population voted that they would approve any move towards independence.
We have conducted a further poll in the past weeks and a similar percentage remains in agreement. We will go to our people again next month to confirm this view. But, I am confident that the people will concede that this plan is best for all concerned.
Now to some detail:
The map above shows the new border between Breton and France. The five French departments of Finistere, Cotes-D’Armor, Ille-et-Vilaine, Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique will secede. For those of you unfamiliar with French political geography – Loire-Atlantique includes the city of Nantes and St Nazaire. Exact borders will be drawn up within a few months, after towns and villages in the bordering areas have been consulted. They may choose to go either way by means of a voting majority. Because of its more remote geographical position, it will take slightly longer to encompass Nantes, but this will happen in due course.
Breton will support the British armed forces in their entirety and a new national joint military force will be constituted. The British Navy will be allowed access to our deep-water ports, and their Air Force will populate our airfields. We will inherit a huge fleet of civilian aircraft and set up a new aerospace industry.
We have a huge surfeit of housing in Brittany, much of it owned by British concerns and is now lying empty – just waiting to be occupied by our new compatriots. What we don’t have we will build.’
He paused to draw breath and posed an obvious question.
‘How will we finance this ‘Brave New World, you will ask?’
Answer: with a great deal of help.
The IMF and leading industrial nations will assist us. They realise the value and potential of a strong Breton partially inhabited by the British. We are four and a half million in Brittany, and we could happily take on the three or four million displaced Britons across the world. There is plenty of room and our two cultures will surely bloom and prosper.
We are extremely happy with the arrangement – please be happy for us!’
M. Zadou took his seat again, whilst a dumbfounded audience tried to take it all in. Press releases were being handed round, which contained all of the relevant information and mapping.
Lord Irvine took the opportunity to reinforce the argument.
‘There are clear precedents for this action – even in this century. In the aftermath of the First and Second World Wars, the map of Europe was re-drawn several times. The nineties saw the Balkans and Germany adjust dramatically to modern times. It is not such a revolutionary idea.
In due course, we shall invite our citizens thrust far and wide by the previous administration to return home – if they choose – and slowly re-absorb them into our new country – Breton.
We shall share political power and transfer anything worth saving from the UK Mainland into safekeeping in Brittany. Any Breton who does not wish to comply with the changes will be rehoused in France at government expense – but we really do not expect the list of émigrés to be a very long one. It's a win-win situation for everyone, and will allow the British to re-establish themselves in a home-from-home. Maybe, in time, even our Royal family can return.
Now, in thirty minutes we will reconvene and I will take any questions. We shall briefly take our leave for a short break. Please read the information in the handouts. I believe that they will answer the vast majority of queries. Be advised, we will not respond to any questions involving subjects covered in your handouts. It would take far too long. Thank you. Your Highness.’
Lord Irvine bowed in deference to Prince Charles, and the six men and women filed off to the side, through a private door where coffee was waiting.
‘Well, M. Zadou, how do think that went?’ asked Lord Irvine of his new political ally.
‘As well as could be expected. No doubt we shall reap the whirlwind in tomorrow’s newspapers and on TV this evening. I suspect the Internet is red hot already!’
‘Well, frankly. I cannot see what objections they can make. Yes, a few Bretons will be inconvenienced, but the vast majority will be delighted. Their income and quality of life will skyrocket. Our biggest job now will be the administration of the relocation and resettlement programme. If there is any trouble, our military will protect the borders.’
M. Zadou stated the obvious problem:
‘The French are not completely happy with the arrangement, but as you say, for them it is the lesser of two evils. They could not sustain and manage two or three million British vagrants. This is a far better long term solution.’
Lord Irvine sat down and nodded agreement.
‘Let's hope so, Marcel. Let's hope so!’
Day 157
Tuesday 21 May
Somewhere in the West Indies
That ‘bloody’ woman, Dame Ann Fletcher – or now better known as Carol Leslie – was already growing more than slightly bored with her decadent lifestyle.
Years of political push and shove had honed her wits and combative skills to a screamingly high pitch, and now, lazing about on sun-soaked beaches sipping exotic cocktails was beginning to pall. She had taken the precaution of using her new ‘surname’ as a Christian name when making new acquaintances – just in case anybody maintaining a search for the trio put two and two together, and realised that the original and very dead Carol Leslie was now in fact, Ann Fletcher. Of course, she presumed correctly and it was an error to have used the Leslie name, but she hadn’t had the time or resources to invent yet another ID.
Perhaps, she mused, it was time for three new alternate identities for the trio. Although the Hilda Carville and Antonia De Marco I.Ds were relatively secure, Carol Leslie might connect the three women. She had been perusing international newspapers and the internet for news of the UK – she couldn’t resist it – and was following the remarkably interesting and absorbing developments instigated by the Lord Irvine. The new First Minister was somebody she knew, but had never fully seduced into her web of corruption and blackmail. He was an astute, cerebral and, unfortunately, a completely virtuous and asexual man, who generally steered well clear of any hint of political scandal or sexual compromise. She would never be able to dupe him or ever use him for her own nefarious purposes.
However, those heady days were well past, and so she turned her attention to more immediate hedonistic pursuits.
Her partner in crime, Dame Susan Macintyre – aka Hilda Carville – seemed to be enjoying herself immensely. The profligate way of life suited her personality perfectly, and she had even taken herself a regular male friend who serviced her needs – both social and sexual
. She imagined that the trio were totally invulnerable living in the American Virgin Islands, and considered the thought of the authorities ‘catching up with them’ as mildly ridiculous. As a consequence, she threw herself into the local social life wherein all of her associates came to know her as ‘Hildie’, the all-round good-time girl, always ready to buy drinks ‘all round’.
However, Chloe was not quite as naïve or self-indulgent, and was quickly learning how to handle herself and the vast amount of funds at her disposal. She had recently embarked on a private cruise around the Caribbean, and had identified four different properties on four differing islands, and had quietly set up bases – secret bases, as her mother and Hildie were unaware of her investments in personal security. She was slowly putting in place an option to ‘disappear’ if her mother became too much of a pain – or if the British UKRA came searching – as she was almost certain that they would – let alone her father! She was having some well founded regrets.
Snow! The Series [Books 1-4] Page 111