Jump to content

The Man Who Broke Britain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Scorpions13256 (talk | contribs) at 20:00, 22 September 2020 (Copying from Category:2004 television films to Category:2004 films Non-diffusing. using Cat-a-lot). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Man Who Broke Britain
GenreDrama
Docufiction
Written by
Directed byGabriel Range
Starring
Narrated byTim Pigott-Smith
ComposerSamuel Sim
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerSimon Finch
Running time90 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC Two
Release9 December 2004 (2004-12-09)
Related
The Day Britain Stopped

The Man Who Broke Britain is a 2004 BBC Television drama about a financial collapse triggered by a devastating terrorist strike.

Plot

A devastating terrorist strike wipes out much of Saudi Arabia's oil production; the same day a trader of Saudi origin disappears from the fictional UK investment bank Sun First Credit (SFCB). Managers soon discover the missing trader, Samir Badr, has built up crippling debts, multiplied a hundredfold by the attacks in Saudi. SFCB, once the toast of the city, is suddenly heading for bankruptcy, taking a whole raft of other banks with it. The resulting market crash and banking crisis will push Britain and the US into a 21st Century recession: pension funds are slashed, unemployment soars and the housing market collapses. Following the discovery that Badr has committed suicide, a new Al-Qa'eda tape surfaces, in which Osama Bin Laden appears to claim responsibility for the financial turmoil. Suspicion grows that Badr was an Islamic extremist who deliberately sabotaged the bank. As the authorities and the media launch a massive investigation into the apparent Al-Qaeda assault on the pillars of the Western Economy, an alternative explanation emerges. Could greed and incompetence be the real cause of the collapse of Britain's economy?