Red Lines

Available for over a year

Craig Oliver and Anthony Seldon's behind the scenes drama - how Prime Minister Cameron and President Obama failed to enforce the "red line" against chemical weapons use by Syria's President Assad, who was aided by Russia's Vladimir Putin. Sir Craig Oliver draws on his experience as David Cameron's former Head of Communications for a timely drama, co-written with the historian Sir Anthony Seldon, revealing for the first time the inside story of how Cameron and Obama were outmanoeuvred by Putin and Assad, then the Prime Minister failed to get support from Parliament to punish Assad's use of Sarin gas on his own people. Assad was aided and abetted by Vladimir Putin, and writers Oliver and Seldon believe these events in 2013 were a step on the road to the invasion of Ukraine. After the UK voted to take no military action, Obama decided against action as well. Instead, Putin brokered a deal with Assad to remove Syria's declared chemical weapons, but in the subsequent months many more attacks were carried out using hidden stockpiles. Starring Toby Stephens as David Cameron, Nicholas Boulton as Vladimir Putin, and featuring Jon Culshaw as Ed Miliband, William Hague and George Osborne. In August 2013 President Assad of Syria used chemical weapons on a rebel area of Damascus, killing hundreds of civilians, including many women and children. Prime Minister David Cameron and President Obama wanted to take limited military action, to punish and deter, but both failed to get the political and public support. Assad, with Putin at his side. succeeded in manipulating events to delay a strike and when David Cameron then decided he needed a debate and Commons vote, the momentum was lost, MPs didn't back him and he suffered a humiliating defeat. CAST DAVID CAMERON - Toby Stephens VLADIMIR PUTIN - Nicholas Boulton SAMANTHA CAMERON - Sarah Lawrie ED MILIBAND - Jon Culshaw WILLIAM HAGUE - Jon Culshaw NARRATOR - Veronica Roberts BARACK OBAMA - Wil Johnson GEORGE OSBORNE - Jon Culshaw CRAIG OLIVER - Jon Culshaw NICK CLEGG - Nicholas Boulton THERESA VILLIERS - Sarah Lawrie ED LLEWELLYN - Wilf Scolding GEORGE YOUNG - Wilf Scolding HILARY BENN - Wilf Scolding DOUGLAS ALEXANDER - Nicholas Boulton Other parts were played by members of the cast. WRITERS - Sir Craig Oliver and Sir Anthony Seldon PRODUCER - Richard Clemmow DIRECTOR - David Morley A Perfectly Normal production for BBC Radio 4