It wasn't me! - Yes, Minister - BBC

A journalist from the Mail discusses an uncovered story about a mishap in government, but the Minister is just pleased that it wasn't his responsibility
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[@offrampc]

Not enough credit is given to all the side actors. This Mr Andrews, the voice, the acting, impeccable and this is true for all the side actors in the show.

[@thomasm1964]

He was also a journalist for The Daily Mail at the time, which was part of the joke of course.

[@aritragupta4182]

0:32 to 0:34 - 'I didn't do it, did I?'..Hacker's expression - clueless about what he supposedly did but terrified that he may have done it. ..Brilliant acting by Paul Eddington

[@michaelnaisbitt1639]

Aritra Gupta he was a brilliant actor His range of expressions is amazing

[@00bikeboy]

Only one of hundreds of examples of his brilliant work in this and Yes, Prime Minister. A travesty that they never awarded him a BAFTA.

[@madabbafan]

@@00bikeboy true, Nigel Hawthorne (Sir Humphery) kept beating him and got them instead

[@SuperAna1954]

Yes, but who are the other actor?

[@MLaak86]

It is quite a shock that even the Daily Mail can't blame a Minister for a mistake made 30 years earlier.

[@bilalbaig8586]

Truly shocking.

[@Grz349]

Guess we know know Jim’s a conservative 😂

[@MLaak86]

@@Grz349 Hahahaha! I mean part of the genius of the series is you, well prior to recent hyper polarisation, could easily see him as being on either side of the political divide.

[@iandhr1]

This is one of my favorite episodes. I love the scene where Hacker finds out it was Humphrey and you see how gleeful he is.

[@HerrProfM]

Which episode is this?

[@iandhr1]

The Skeleton in the Cupboard

[@jorawarsanghera7440]

thanks.

[@psidhu1979]

mine too!!

[@SafwanNet]

Thanks for the episode name

[@Schnorbs]

"A real promise. Not the sort you put in your manifestos." And this was written 25 years ago, and not 25 minutes ago?

[@yodaslovetoy]

And yet, tonight, so many ministers reneged on their manifesto promises

[@yakubduncan9019]

@@yodaslovetoy I love how that comment will probably never be more than a few days out of date.

[@OtherSideOfMorning]

@@yakubduncan9019 "The more things change, the more they remain the same.."

[@deepblue64]

That nothing realy changes gives one great comfort...

[@MrThorfan64]

@@yakubduncan9019 Alas.

[@brontewcat]

Of course it is obvious it was going to be Humphrey.

[@bezukaking6860]

30 years

[@jenniferschmitzer299]

Oh.

[@cisium1184]

The audience was already laughing at the setup. They knew exactly whom it would be.

[@jonb6417]

This episode has so much depth of meaning that it goes to the very heart of high-level civil service manipulations. An absolute tour-de-force of scripting and, of course, acting. Perfect on so many levels.

[@HSMiyamoto]

Poor Jim Hacker was never a lawyer, and he doesn't know how to make a qualified promise -- "Yes, I will do everything I can for you." -- that sort of thing. People really can't expect more than that.

[@greggweber9967]

An out when convenient for you?

[@kopicat2429]

Doing everything you CAN for someone isn't a good choice of words. Because taken to it's literal end, it includes killing and dying for that other person. Because those are things you CAN do, but probably don't WANT to do.

[@MrLego3160]

@@kopicat2429 Can reasonably do, then.

[@TerryTheNewsGirl]

One of my faves. Love the bit where Jim and Bernard are laughing their heads of about Humphry - it's so funny!

[@JulieWallis1963]

I loved Yes Minister. I learnt all my political knowledge via this show.

[@pc168]

Are you a minister or a permanent secretary yet?

[@richardlloyd2589]

Jim, “You know all their tricks, how do you beat them [civil service]?” Former minister of the DAA, “My dear chap, if I knew that I wouldn’t be in opposition”.

[@yottaforce]

I'm sorry that's all you know.

[@jeffhubbard4688]

So do most politicians since then.

[@greggweber9967]

Be careful how what you say can be misused by those against you. You just said that you learned from the tele. You don't know much is how they'll twist your words and meaning. I agree with you. YM and YPM are great primers for all voters.

[@richardlloyd2589]

Beautifully echoed again in Yes PM, when Humphrey was indiscreet at the end of his Ludovice Kennedy interview, and Bernard, as “intelligence” recovered the tapes from the BBC.

[@garyhiggins6718]

The great thing about Hacker was that he was so easy to intimidate! As ever BRILLIANT!!!!!

[@MapleSyrupPoet]

"Your having me on" ❤ love this phrase 😊

[@ridethelapras]

The characters haven't even found out it was Humphrey yet, but listen to the audience's reaction at 1:45 ff. There's no real joke there, but they laugh-because they (and the intelligent viewer) already begin to suspect ol' Humpy!

[@AzguardMike]

me and a friend watched this series recently and at 1:44 he was like "can you imagine if its Sir Humphrey?"

[@nraketh]

And it was a real studio audience back then, rather than a track added in.

[@Zandalorscat]

I love this episode so much.

[@mLi75]

i have both series on DVD.... i enjoyed it as a child and even more so as an adult.

[@richardlloyd2589]

I may be a bit older them on VHS. Also the books, which were styled as the diaries of Sir Bernard Woolley GCMG, former head of the home civil service. Which I though was a fantastic touch.

[@taxidude]

It gets great later on as we watch Sir Humphrey squirm!

[@summushieremiasclarkson4700]

£40m, property, that would be worth what, £500m today?

[@garyhiggins6718]

Even in the best series there are some episodes that are better than the rest and this is one of them.

[@ridethelapras]

The best ones are the ones where Humpy gets his comeuppance. In _Yes, Prime Minister_ it's "The Key", "One of Us" (Humphrey a Russian spy?) and "The Tangled Web" where even Bernard is shocked at how much Sir Humphrey goofs up. Between the two series however, this one and "The Key" are the best I think, in terms of seeing Humpy suffer.

[@damo2353]

They should have shown the next scene which is Humpy reading the story in the paper with a look of total anguish on his face.

[@WorldWar2freak94]

That would have been hilarious.

[@stephenphillip5656]

...and the bit after that.... or the whole episode. One of my all time favourites " The Skeleton In The Cupboard".

[@rubyshah5844]

Brilliant, I love this episode....

[@NTeach10]

BBC worldwide are a separate part of the BBC whom get their funding via adverts, hence, when abroad and you switch on the BBC World Service you get ads.

[@elrjames7799]

In the 'good old days' the BBC 'World Service' (as it was then) was funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office: it was 'separate' in presentation. Even then, ads crept into their BBC Worldwide magazine, and when the World Service was subsumed by the License fee monolith, political correctness and a magazine style approach reduced it's output to the standard of BBC Five Live.

[@millomweb]

I'd be totally in favour of ads on the BBC if it got rid of the silly licence. But, I do think the BBC should take a completely new approach to advertising such that ads were still not on the Beeb.

[@cjryan88]

love this show

[@jonathanfraser321]

40 years old and the Daily Mail hasnt changed. At least the Sun has, slightly

[@saya7292]

Why, do they now care about the bottom in addition to the rack?

[@dompretcloud2]

It is so stupid that he didn't wait that few weeks for those papers.

[@yt_Ajay_]

If this guy had just kept his mouth shut and not brought any attention to those documents he'd have gotten everything

[@MrSniperfox29]

As someone else said, Humphrey ended up reading a preview piece on the paper, so it’s possible without the meeting he would have disposed of the files himself without hacker ever knowing. Hacker ended up benefiting because it allowed him to use the whole saga as blackmail over south Derbyshire

[@mohammedalikhanf8921]

The irony is that the journalist would have got the full files anyway, under the 30 year rule, because he wouldn’t have alerted Hacker and his permanent secretary!

[@icebraining]

Sir Humphrey didn't learn about it from Hacker, he read it in a news article published before the papers were released. So if Hacker didn't know, he could probably "re-file" them quietly, instead of having to tell him.

[@mohammedalikhanf8921]

icebraining True. Maybe the papers shouldn’t have published any news till they had all the documents on hand, without alerting anyone, especially Sir Humphrey.

[@Grz349]

@@icebrainingbut if Jim hadn’t been given the tip off he would have known anyone would have been looking.

[@earthlybump4843]

Oh I love this episode

[@Liorte1973]

I didn’t do it did I? 😂😂

[@georgeh5075]

The old boys tie was a nice touch of costume design

[@BritGirlJay]

Yes Minister and yes Prime Minister - top shows - very funny.

[@schlockmeister754]

Why is 98% of all British humour so utterly brilliant?? The only series I don't like seems to be "It Ain't Half Hot Mum".

[@cfytcf]

Oh Humpy!

[@deesplaylists6941]

KZbin great with shoving ads down your throat but god forbid you should be able to watch an entire episodes of a 40 yr old TV show instead of a cheap clip.

[@michaele4830]

"A promise is a promise but not those in the manifesto" reminds me of Mahathir's Administration

[@eedobee]

@swordfish1929 Yes. He's also in line for a CBE and is freaking out.

[@plrndl]

Spoiler alert. The civil servant in question is Sir Humphrey.

[@The_Scouts_Code]

did you find that promise in their manifesto?

[@jozzo6]

BBC Worldwide is a separate for-profit company spin-off from the BBC, that makes money from international broadcasting.

[@donaldasayers]

Like most of Yes Minister, this was based on something that actually happened...

[@DanierCZ]

Donald Sayers Really :O ?

[@madabbafan]

@@DanierCZ yes the writers had people in the civil service giving them info on a few things that were going on. Nothing confidential or top secret etc but just a few farcical things that were happening. I'm sure one or two MPs were in on it too.

[@johnwarren7544]

Applies even more today 2021 than it did then unfortunately.

[@robertbryant6859]

The BBC won't repeat these old programmes now. As a former BBC Director-General said - 'Hideously white.'

[@amoral_minority]

In that case the joke is clearly lost on them

[@johnking5174]

Yes Minister does get repeated now and again on their commercial arm channels of GOLD etc

[@alanmackinnon3516]

I think they won't show it, because it shows how atrocious modern comedy shows our compared to this classic

[@Jchathe]

When real reporting meant something

[@hoilst]

Alex stole Kerry O'Brien's pen!

[@asparadog]

Can the BBC hire Jonathan Lynn again, to make more things like this?

[@madabbafan]

They did a few years ago on Gold - the new cast were awful and the episodes have now been burried in leadlined concrete in a location known only to one person who (to partly quote from 'Allo ' Allo) fell out of a fast moving government car, off a 30 foot high bridge and onto the west coast main line just as the london express was passing through. It was an accedent

[@timewalker6654]

@@madabbafan lol

[@atishaybegani]

Which Episode was this?

[@iandhr1]

The Skeleton In The Cupboard

[@minibus9]

awesome video

[@marconatrix]

LMAO! Some things simply never date :-)

[@sudburylawyer]

@swordfish1929 yep!

[@Kalenz1234]

Just say you can't make that kind of commitment without knowing what's in the files..

[@madabbafan]

The end of the episode shows how Sir Humphery manages to show how all the papers can be removed from the file. Even using the floods of 1965 which was (apparently) an excellent year for floods - they lost no end of embarassing files

[@fr0ztb1te]

@BasilFawlty4444 not on youtube

[@Ribbo]

@BasilFawlty4444 This isn't the BBC in case you didn't know. The website is called KZbin....

[@JustLilGecko]

@gaiagale Are you for real and/or high?

[@assessmentincharge]

Yup it was Sir humphrey who did the screw up. :D

[@lxdimension]

That guy looks like Gene Wilder

[@defenstrator4660]

I don't even understand the objection. If you sign a lease it is standard that all chattels are retained if they weren't removable. If the government didn't like it they could either renew the lease or clear the property of what they had built.

[@michaelvidal1971]

Scottish Law and England and Wales law is not the same which is the point of the episode.

[@babyhuey6342]

The whole point of the episode is that English law would have given the government some recourse, but nobody realized that since it was under Scottish law, they didn't have any options.

[@zorin40]

perhaps this show was not targeting audience like you. You might be better suited to the PMQ time in the parliament?

[@madabbafan]

Ah under English law yes. Under Scottish law it all reverts to the freeholder at the end of the lease - and everything built on it as well so to clear it they would need the permition of the landowner.

[@12348477]

Alex Andrews reminds me of Gene Wilder.

[@swordfish1929]

Was it Humphrey who made the mistake?

[@Isleofskye]

Yes. Sorry I am 7 years late....

[@kroidenfravest9931]

@@Isleofskye (grin) Do you work for the civil service by any chance ? :D

[@michaelvidal1971]

Sir Humphrey's admission is worth listening to.

[@Stilgarsan]

@@kroidenfravest9931 because he is 21 years too fast for fleet street?

[@JonatasMonte]

Guess who did it 30 years ago hahaha

[@Trek001]

What was hacker trying to say when he was cut off - something about the guy having to apply for...

[@johnking5174]

He was trying to say that under English law the man must apply for permission to build this holiday camp on former Ministry of Defence property, however under Scottish law he doesn''t have to apply for permission and can go ahead straight away.

[@brontewcat]

John King Thank you for the explanation.

[@brontewcat]

However I am not sure why it is a problem. The MOD gets use of the land for 30 years, and puts up the infrastructure knowing it will revert to the owner in 30 years. Why is it a problem the owner gets the benefit?

[@cromwellcruiser]

@@brontewcat The implication is that the 'poor sod' who wrote the contract didn't know that this process would be automatic - can usually get some form of payment for the structures as the lease was 'improved', but which the government would have been guaranteed to receive had their permission been necessary for the conversion to the holiday camp.

[@brontewcat]

Varsity Chap Still a mistake made by someone when they were very junior should not be the subject of such a witch hunt. We learn from our mistakes, and it doesn’t mean that person would make a similar mistake now that they are senior. I guess I do not think of it as a hangable offence to lose a govt some money. I know it was a stuff up, but even when I first looked at this clip I didn’t quite understand why it was such a big issue, particularly when you compare it to the mistakes made in Europe and the US by leaders in not testing, contact tracing and shutting down early enough. I think the situation in the world today puts this sort of mistake in perspective. I know this is a TV show, but I understand a lot of the show was informed by actual situations. If I was a politician or a senior public servant I know which mistake I would rather have on my conscience.

[@thatdutchguy2882]

No would have been the correct awnser there,...but told to him by a junior minister a week later. Followed by a juicy scoop of a political rival as a consolation price,...but not letting on that this was the case.

[@thatdutchguy2882]

Way too slippery that journalist.

[@hoilst265]

A GREEN PEN! ...if you're an Aussie, you know know what I'm referring to.

[@tighji2179]

Please advise, What's the difference between Scottish and English law on this issue? Thanks

[@Sierraomega1991]

Guess is the freehold that basically in English law if ur renting then anything you build belongs to u But in Scottish law when the lease ends anything on the land belongs to the land owner

[@underwaterbubbles]

Hackers government or today's government, is there really any difference ?

[@Stilgarsan]

Of course, those are completely different governments. The civil service's government on the other hand...

[@neilbrock]

I click on a link expecting sophisticated British comedy by sophisticated actors for th world of Shakespeare and the west end stage. I get an advert by "Rizzle Kicks".

[@rodeocyclone]

neilbrock Are you over it now?

[@graemestansfield6170]

These are very similar to what our Mps get up to .

[@donaldasayers]

This actually happened.

[@x42brown33]

I know that civil servants have made mistakes with differences in Scottish/English law (it happened more than once in the department I was in) but never one that large I thought I would have heard of it. Have you a reference?

[@oxoalan1]

Is the journalist wearing an MCC tie?

[@josyms7849]

No MCC tie is very similar but is red and yellow

[@InspektorDreyfus]

The left guy resembles Viktor Borge.

[@headchopperz]

@gaiagale .. ok... You seem to be skipping the facts.

[@richiemayne]

@gaiagale BBC Worldwide is the commercial arm of the BBC, so quit complaining.

[@123haninhk]

Just a nitpicking: I really dislike the way he’s sitting in front of PM.

[@andi9300]

Hacker is a minister here not the PM.

[@123haninhk]

@@andi9300 It has been a while since I watched the show, but Hacker became the PM in “Yes, Prime Minister” spinoff. Naturally, I thought of him as the PM here.

[@odysseusrex5908]

A property owner made a good deal and will make money. *Horrors!* That must not be allowed!

[@cacambo589]

...at the taxpayers' expense because of shoddy admin.

[@odysseusrex5908]

@@cacambo589 Well, the taxpayers got the value of the military base while it was in use, so, win, win.

[@ScorpiusZA.]

I actually can't see anything wrong with this. What would happen where I live is that the owner of the land would be taxed on the improvements made on the property in the year they were done, but at the end of the lease, they become his, free and clear. No issues at all.

[@tacoman10]

I think that the issue is that the government will have spent 30 years building a resort destination for a private individual due to the oversight, no strings attached. It makes them look bad and they lose potential money.

[@Antihochos]

Pay KZbin a licene fee and maybe they won't either.

[@BasilFawlty4444]

It's the BBC's channel.

[@friendkilbride8152]

Portavadie ...

[@krusk3544]

Something that doesn't translate to well to the US I guess. "We leased land from somebody, now they're getting it back because the lease is up" "Isn't that illegal?" Doesn't make any sense to me

[@MinazukiShiun]

My guess, in English law everything you build on the leased land belonged to you. Under Scottish law it falls to the landowner at the end of the lease.

[@davidberry5982]

.

[@MrMagnusFogg]

...the price you have to pay for a free thing...

[@dailyrider2975]

Interesting how worried the paper and government are about someone making money on a legitimate transaction that took 30 years to complete. About the cost of single Harrier Jump jet at the time I think. Government got what it wanted out of the deal, it's not like they were cheated.

[@JESK-lx4js]

The Daily Mail never has any problem with blaming the wrong government. The Tories have been in power for 10 years and the Mail are still blaming the previous government for all the problems in modern Britain. When Labour came to power in 1997 after years of Tory rule everything was Labour's fault even though they'd only been there 2 minutes.

[@MladenPostruznik]

"The Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country; The Guardian is read by people who think they ought to run the country; The Times is read by the people who actually do run the country; the Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country; the Financial Times is read by people who own the country; the Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by another country, and the Daily Telegraph is read by people who think it is." - Jim Hacker.

[@Michaelthekiwi]

@@MladenPostruznik What about The Sun?

[@SuperTflat]

@@Michaelthekiwi Sun readers don't care as long as they have big tits

[@thestranger4812]

Get adblock.

[@Bod8998]

I ain’t subscribing to this even tho I like yes minister

[@johnking5174]

Why?

[@BasilFawlty4444]

i thought we paid a licence so that the bbc didnt show adverts!!!!

[@Warriorking1963]

Ahh... the good old days, when the BBC was a TV broadcaster and not a political organisation like it is today.

[@aritragupta4182]

But the female presenters didn't wear such tight dresses back then did they 😉

[@soundslave]

lol I smell a brexiteer.

[@kkgt6591]

Warriorking1963 e

[@adelarsen9776]

Vote UKIP

[@s1lm4r1l6]

Brexiteers need to feel the world is against them, allows them to pretend they've overcome some overwhelming odds, that their success was against all expectation.

[@purusharma6029]

I wonder if real beaureocrates watch this.

[@Stilgarsan]

Margaret Thatcher just loved the show. A bit to the writer's dismay

[@Reifgar]

@gaiagale Oh my goodness. You are unbelievable. You failed in making any sense or providing any sort of useful statement for one of the last videos so you have to come here and spout your nonsense again? Truly sad. Please stop wasting everyone's time and just stop commenting.

[@TheDajoca]

Back when the Beeb produced great programs and wasn't spewing social justice propaganda.

[@occamraiser]

And the grim reaper has taken all of these comedy giants, even Mr Derek. :(