‘I have to tell you formally what you know already.' The Secretary of State's voice shook for a moment as he surveyed the media crammed into the back-up mobile police station.
Op 'The seven a.m. London-Edinburgh shuttle crashed on the Lammermuirs just after eight this morning, with two hundred and five people on board.
I have to tell you also that the passengers included Colin Davey, the Secretary of State for Defence, Roland McGrath, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Scottish Office pp and Shaun Massey, the Secretary for Defense of the United States.' A flurry of hisses and gasps swept through his audience.
A full list of the dead will be issued at the conclusion of this briefing. It will show that I have lost many colleagues in addition to those in Government whom I have mentioned, including fellow members of the House, and several in the civil service. Sir James Proud, who sits beside me, has lost a distinguished serving officer, and many families have been bereaved.
`However, even in the midst of this disaster, we can take comfort from one remarkable event. One of the two hundred and five people on board the aircraft, a young child, has survived, and uninjured at that. I will not reveal his identity, although I expect that it will become public knowledge in due course. When that happens, I hope that you will all desist from doing anything which might add to his distress or affect his recovery from an event whose nature and scale he does not yet understand'
Hardy paused. 'In the main I will leave briefing on the details of the accident to the police and to the airline representatives, but I will take one or two questions'
Hands shot up, awkwardly in the enclosed space. 'Sir!' `Secretary of State!' Mr Hardy!'
Reporters shouted over each other clamouring for attention. Alan Royston, the Police Media Relations Manager stood up, calming the throng. He pointed to a Chinese girl in the front row.
Annabel Yi, Radio Forth. Can you give us any indication of the cause of the accident, sir.
Was it engine failure?'
Obviously,' said the Secretary of State, precise to the end. `But the experts must confirm what caused that failure.'
Was the child on board with his parents?' asked John Hunter, an ever-present freelance whom Hardy knew well.
`With one parent, John, the fact of whose death he does not yet understand. Now no more questions on that subject, please.' Is he still here?' asked Annabel Yi.
`Nor said Bob Skinner firmly, from his standing position at the side of the small table.
`What effect will this have on your majority?' a tabloid reporter called from the centre of the group.
All parties seem to have suffered in this tragedy,' Hardy said curtly. 'I doubt if any of us are thinking of majorities right now.'
`How many MPs were on board, sir?'
`Six in all. You will see them on your list.'
`What was Mr McGrath's majority in Edinburgh Dean, Mr Hardy?'
The Secretary of State shook his head emphatically. He needed no reminding that his dead colleague's majority had been less than secure. I'm sorry,' he said, with a trace of temper,
'but I am not going to be drawn by that line of questioning. Ladies and gentlemen, that is all I have to say.' He stood up and left the trailer, with Skinner following. His black chauffeured Rover was parked outside, with its driver standing by, in grey uniform and peaked cap.
I must be on my way, Mr Skinner,' he said quietly. 'I'm going to the airport now to collect Leona McGrath. Roland's agent's meeting me there too.'
`Good luck to you both,' said the policeman sincerely. 'Tell the lady from me she's got a great wee boy. And tell her about the girl who saved his life too, will you?' For an instant, a lump rose in his throat.
I'll do all that. I'll tell her about you too, rescuing Mark from the plane. Jimmy Proud told me about that just before we saw the press.' His voice dropped. 'Keep me personally informed, Bob, will you, when you find the rest of the wreckage that you're after?
Personally, you understand.'
Skinner nodded. He looked after the car as it reversed out towards the moorland road.
When it was out of sight, he turned and headed away, not towards the press centre, but towards the Command unit. Suddenly a stocky dark-haired figure fell into step beside him.
It was Julian Finney, of Scottish Television. The man was, Skinner knew, a real ferret of a reporter, but he knew also that he was trustworthy.
`Sorry to doorstep you like this, Bob, but…'
Skinner smiled. 'Come on, Julian, you always doorstep me like this. What is it?'
`Something I didn't want to mention in there.' He nodded towards the press HQ. 'My office had a call from a woman in Longformacus, saying that she saw the plane coming down in two parts. She said that the main cabin and tail section came down without the rest. She described it very vividly. The airline guy in there, after you left, did his best to give the impression that it broke apart on impact. If I say on air tonight that eye-witnesses spoke of an explosion, would I be making a fool of myself or would I have the story of the year?'
The policeman glanced at him as they walked. Finney knew the questions to ask, all right.
'I don't hand out press awards, mate.'
`No, but if I ran that story, you wouldn't be on to the Complaints Commission either, would you?'
He stopped and looked at the man. 'just don't go over the score, Julian. You've got one eye-witness. Stick to that, don't speculate any further and you won't have any problem with me.'
`Fair enough. There's something else you should know,' Finney went on. 'I heard the guy from the Record take a call from his office. I think it was a tip-off about you — something about smashing your way into the cockpit of the plane and coming out with a kid.
There was a long silence.
`Roland McGrath had a wee boy, didn't he, Bob?'
Skinner glowered at the reporter. 'Tell you what, Julian, and you can believe me. You run any of that, and I really will crucify you.'
I believe you, Bob. I believe you!'