Britannia Radio

Fascinating Report on " the incompetences of the Treasury over 50 years+

The Secret Treasury The Great Offices of State

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(1 - 3 of 3 programmes)

1. The Secret Treasury

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   programme information

   (60 minutes)
   

   Available since today 

   with 7 

   days left.

   3/3. 

   Michael Cockerell 

   uses 

   archive film 

   and 

   interviews 

   to uncover 

   the world of 

   the Treasury.

currently available on these devices: Selected wi-fi/3G enabled mobile phones. Read more about where to get BBC iPlayer.

Last broadcast today

19:45 on BBC Two (England, Northern Ireland only)(see all broadcasts).

NEXT ON:

Today, 20:15 on BBC Two (Scotland only)

SYNOPSIS

Three-part series in which award-winning reporter Michael Cockerell uncovers the secret world of Whitehall, showing what the trio of great offices - Home, Foreign and Treasury - are really like.

The Treasury is the oldest and most secretive of the three. Cockerell's film recounts the many battles Chancellors have fought over the years with their top officials and it shows how often the Treasury has been locked in conflict with Number 10.

He blends fresh filming with rare and unseen archive, and features candid interviews with the current Chancellor Alastair Darling, many of his predecessors and their normally camera-shy mandarins.

The programme shows how Treasury officials see themselves as the Whitehall elite, brighter and quicker than other civil servants, whereas critics claim they are congenitally cautious and nerdy. Successive prime ministers have sought to combat what they call 'the dead hand of the Treasury', but a senior mandarin claims that over the years the Treasury has discovered a hundred different ways of saying no.

CREDITS

Presenter

Michael Cockerell

Reporter

Michael Cockerell

Director

James Giles

Producer

Michael Cockerell

Executive Producer

Martin Wilson

BROADCASTS

1. Thu 25 Feb 2010
   21:00
   BBC Four
2. Thu 25 Feb 2010
   23:30
   BBC Four
3. Fri 26 Feb 2010
   03:30
   BBC Four
4. Sun 28 Feb 2010
   19:00
   BBC Four
5. Sat 3 Apr 2010
   19:45
   BBC Two (England, Northern Ireland only)
6. Sat 3 Apr 2010
   20:15
   BBC Two (Scotland only)
7. Tue 6 Apr 2010
   03:25
   BBC One
8. Wed 14 Apr 2010
   23:20
   BBC Two (Wales only)