Retreat

Tom Bateman concludes his history of the French and British Mandates in the Middle East as he examines how events in the 1940s still reverberate today. Drawing on his years as a BBC Correspondent based in Jerusalem, Tom examines a period in the region’s history when the pressures of war and competing national claims pushed Britain to retreat from the Mandate. He reveals how, from political movements and movements of people to ideas and lines on maps, the decisions taken by France and Britain as their Mandates came to an end were foundational.

Producer: Giles Edwards.