Michael Portillo

Partition, 1921, tells the story of how Ireland came to be to be partitioned from the perspective of the British and unionist politicians who divided Ireland. Michael Portillo examines how this happened, unravelling a web of intrigue woven by the British ruling classes for whom the essential issue was defending Ulster

Last December's "Cheriegate" affair did little to abate the rampant public cynicism reserved for politicians - a mistrust evidenced in the turnout at the 2001 general election, which was the lowest for more than 80 years. In this documentary, Michael Cockerell talks to figures including Edwina Currie, Max Clifford, Geoffrey Robinson and Neil Hamilton in an effort to see if spin, sleaze and ministerial failure is to blame, or whether the media's sneering political coverage is most at fault.

In the final days of the yuppie decade, the summer of ’89 saw a new type of youth rebellion rip through the cultural landscape, with thousands of young people dancing at illegal Acid House parties in fields and aircraft hangars around the M25. Set against the backdrop of ten years of Thatcherism, it was a benign form of revolution, dubbed the Second Summer of Love – all the ravers wanted was the freedom to party… The rave scene, along with the drug Ecstasy, broke down social barriers and even football hooligans were ‘loved up’, solving a problem the government had never managed to crack. But lurid tabloid headlines and cat-and-mouse games with the police eventually turned the dream sour, as the gangster element moved in at the end of the summer.

Could London cope with the devastating effects of a multi-pronged terrorist attack? Using a fictional yet plausible scenario, together with analyses from experts on this kind of situation, Newsnight presenter Gavin Esler asks whether Britain, in the light of recent events in Madrid, has done enough to prepare for this disastrous eventuality, which certain politicians maintain is now inevitable. (BBC Genome)

A documentary by Michael Cockerell revealing a portrait of the Chancellor Gordon Brown and his shadow Michael Portillo

Former cabinet minister Michael Portillo assesses the legacy and continued influence of Margaret Thatcher on the Conservative Party. He talks with former colleagues about the highs of the Thatcher years and the lows that followed for the Tories, speaking frankly about his own personal regrets and the damage Thatcher inflicted on the party in the wilderness years after John Major's premiership.

Michael Portillo returns with an authored documentary, that uses British state papers to shed fresh light on key events and personalities during the Civil War period in Ireland.