← All Movies
In the Loop
At a time when the United Kingdom and the United States are contemplating military intervention in the Middle East, the UK Minister for International Development, Simon Foster, offhandedly states during an interview on BBC Radio 4 's Today programme that war in the region is "unforeseeable". The Prime Minister 's Director of Communications, Malcolm Tucker, castigates Simon and warns him to toe the line. Toby Wright, Simon's new special adviser, is dating Suzy, who works in the Foreign Office, and he takes the credit when she gets Simon an invite to that day's Foreign Office– State Department meeting.
The US Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomacy, Karen Clark, opposes military intervention, and, at the meeting, she flags a report—titled "Post-War Planning: Parameters, Implications, and Possibilities" (PWPPIP)—by her aide Liza Weld about the pros and cons of intervention, which features many more cons than pros and contains caveats for most of the pros. Ambushed by reporters afterward, Simon rambles that the government must be prepared to "climb the mountain of conflict", and is again chastised by Malcolm, though the Prime Minister decides to send Simon to the US to gather information about problems that might arise for the UK in the event of a war.
Back in Washington, DC, hawkish US Assistant Secretary of State for Policy Linton Barwick is concerned that his secret war committee was mentioned during the Foreign Office meeting; Karen and Liza deduce that it is named the Future Planning Committee. Karen teams up with Lieutenant General George Miller, who opposes the war because he believes the US has insufficient military personnel available, and invites Simon to the upcoming meeting of the Future Planning Committee to "internationalize the dissent". Toby thoughtlessly leaks the true nature of the committee to a friend at CNN, and then meets up with Liza, whom he knows from university, at a bar, and they end up sleeping together.
Owing to Toby's leak, the Future Planning Committee meeting is swamped by reporters. Both Karen and Linton turn to Simon to back their respective causes, but he struggles to say anything meaningful in support of either. Malcolm arrives and confronts Linton about sending him to a diversionary briefing at the White House, and Linton asks him to supply the US with British intelligence that will support military intervention.
Back in Simon's Northampton constituency, a resident named Paul Michaelson urges him to do something about his constituency office wall, which is in danger of collapsing into Paul's mother's garden. When Paul feels ignored, he contacts the media, and there is growing criticism over Simon's inaction. Suzy finds out about Toby's one-night stand with Liza and breaks up with him, but as he is moving out of their apartment, he leaves her a copy of PWPPIP, asking her to leak it; she chastises him for not doing it himself.
The day of the UN Security Council vote on military intervention arrives, and everyone converges on the UN in New York. Simon tells his Director of Communications, Judy Molloy, to hint that he will resign as minister if the resolution is passed. Malcolm learns that PWPPIP has been leaked to BBC News, so he convinces the British Permanent Representative to the UN, Sir Jonathan Tutt, to move the vote forwards to before the BBC reports on PWPPIP. Linton tells Malcolm the vote cannot happen until he delivers the British intelligence, however, so Malcolm makes Sir Jonathan delay the vote again. Aided by Jamie McDonald, a senior press officer, Malcolm hastily fabricates some intelligence by forcing the reluctant Director of Diplomacy at the Foreign Office, Michael Rodgers, to generate a doctored copy of PWPPIP with its arguments against a war deleted.
The Security Council approves intervention in the Middle East. George informs Karen that, as a soldier, he cannot go through with their plan to resign together in protest now that the country is at war, and Simon's intention to make a statement by resigning is thwarted when Malcolm fires him, ostensibly over the collapsing wall story (which Malcolm seeded to the BBC to preempt coverage of PWPPIP). A new Minister for International Development is appointed, with her own special adviser, and Simon is left to deal with his constituents in Northampton.