Letters Of Last Resort (Radio) (excerpt)

Synopsis:

One of the very first duties of a British Prime Minister upon attaining office is to write four letters in his or her own hand.

Each of the letters is made out to the Commander of a nuclear-armed Trident submarine that forms a part of the British Fleet.  Upon having been penned, each letter is placed in a separate envelope and sealed with an official, Prime Ministerial seal.

The only person who is aware of the contents of each letter is the Prime Minister him- or herself.  Each of the letters is then delivered by hand to each of four Commanders.

Once aboard their craft, the letters are locked in a safe which is locked within a second, larger safe.  The Commander holds half the combination to each safe whilst the First Officer holds the other half.

In the event of a nuclear attack upon the United Kingdom as a result of which the executive arm of government is no longer able to govern, the safes of the patrolling vessel are to be opened and the letter read by the Commander, whose duty it is to act upon the contents of the letter.

As regards those contents, there are ultimately only two possible courses of action:  Retaliate.. or do nothing – the understanding being that retaliation may well result in the end of human life on this planet.

Should the sitting Prime Minister leave office for any reason, each of the letters is destroyed without being opened, and a new set of letters written by the incoming Prime Minister.

To date, none of these letters has ever been read.  Which means, in effect, that their main function lies in forcing the PM to consider such questions in depth – in an atmosphere of relative calm and in the spirit of measured circumspection – before unleashing the rabid dogs of war.

Collectively, these instruments are referred to as the Letters Of Last Resort.

Beatrice has just been elected PM.  She takes us on her journey as she pens four letters of a very different kind, though each is predicated on much the same contingency.

Character Breakdown:

BEATRICE       70

Running-time:  80 minutes.

Production History:  Not yet produced.

Excerpt available to download for free.