Brexit, Covid, Partygate, lockdowns, leaks, the war in Ukraine, a cost-of-living crisis and the scandals that plagued our politics. Guto Harri was in the room when the big decisions were made. In this podcast, expect unprecedented access behind the shiny black door of Number 10 Downing Street, during one of the most chaotic periods in British political history.  

Guto was Boris Johnson’s Communications Chief. When he first walked over the Number 10 threshold, things weren’t normal. A set of circumstances, scandals and chaos that will never be repeated. It was unprecedented. 

Episode 1 is available from May 11th on Global Player, and available May 12th everywhere else.

Boris Johnson could have been one of the most successful politicians of our time, but the shortcuts he took to get to Downing Street set him up to fail. In this episode, the rise of Boris and the mess he got himself into. Hear what he really thinks of Rishi Sunak, Sue Gray and his own MPs.

Guto Harri was Boris Johnson’s Communication Chief during one of the most chaotic periods in British political history. He was in the room when the big decisions were made. Join him as he opens the shiny black door to 10 Downing Street and takes you inside.When he first walked over the Number 10 threshold, things weren’t normal. A set of circumstances, scandals and chaos that will never be repeated. It was unprecedented.

Archive Credits:

1. Good Thinking TV

2. LBC / Global

3. Parliament Live TV 

4. PA Media

5. UK Supreme Court Live / 24 September 2019

6. BBC News

7. Mumsnet 

8. Downing Street Press Conference / February 2022 

9. The News Agents / Global  

10. AP Archive / ‘Conservative Boris Johnson wins London Mayoral elex’

11. The Dame Edna Treatment / ITV / Tiger Aspect Productions

12. Have I Got News For You / BBC / Hat Trick Productions

13. BBC Newsnight 

14. Out4Marriage / ‘Boris Johnson (@MayorofLondon) is Out4Marriage!’ / YouTube 

15. Pride In London / ‘A Message from the Mayor of London - Boris Johnson | Pride in London 2014’ / YouTube 

16. On Demand News / ITN Productions

17. tomcardy1 / ‘A special song just for you’/ YouTube

February 24th, 2022. The unthinkable happens.

Guto Harri is woken by a call from the Military Attaché explaining that Russia has just invaded Ukraine. Within a matter of minutes Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy are on the call.

"Are you ok? Do you have good people around you?" Boris asks.

"I'm fine. But you never know, when Russian Special Forces are moving in on your

city. I just hope this isn't the last time we speak to each other" Volodymyr replies.

And then the line went dead.

What happens next touches every nerve. Innocent civilians and children killed, schools and hospitals bombed, the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since WWII.

And among it all, a political grapple to understand what is happening and what Europe can do to restore peace and save lives. All the while facing down a nuclear superpower with an itchy trigger finger.

Guto Harri was Boris Johnson’s Communications Chief during one of the most chaotic periods in British political history. He was in the room when the big decisions were made. Join him as he opens the shiny black door to 10 Downing Street and takes you inside.

For this episode, it was a leadership moment like no other. Europe was looking down the barrel of a smoking gun. The UK had to respond. One false move could trigger another World War. It was unprecedented.

Archive Credits:

1. Good Thinking TV

2. LBC / Global

3. Parliament Live TV

4. BBC News

5. The News Agents / Global

6. ITV News

7. Sky News

8. United Nations / YouTube

9. The White House / YouTube / 24 February 2022

10. NATO News / YouTube

11. Office of the President of Ukraine / YouTube

12. PA Media

13. @warukraine9707 / 'God save The Queen - Ukrainian soldiers thank for help' / YouTube

14. 10 Downing Street

15. U.S. Department of State press conference / Facebook

16. U.S. Department of Defense / defense.gov

17. NBC News

18. Reuters

19. Channel 4 News

20. I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! / ITV / Lifted Entertainment