Rick Yates
Rick Yates was a political adviser to Prime Minister Brian Green in 2009. Later, he served as Foreign Secretary by 2011.
Biography
Yates was summoned to a meeting of COBRA on Day Four of the 456 incident to discuss the 456's demands for 10% of the children on Earth. Yates was first asked for sixty children to be sacrificed as a compromise offer. When the 456 rejected it, Yates suggested alphabetical order for the random 10% from Britain. The idea was ridiculed by the Home Secretary Denise Riley, who suggested he favoured this idea because his surname was near the end of the alphabet. Yates said that he had no children.
When the 456 made their initial demand, a desperate Yates tried to advocate to Green that if they could spin the population loss "in the right way", it could be presented as a good thing that slowed down the population growth. He later jumped on the idea of blaming the 456 for the missing children as a cover story, willing to deflect all blame to the aliens, and was contemptuous of Lois Habiba speaking out. (TV: Children of Earth: Day Four [+]Loading...["Children of Earth: Day Four (TV story)"], Children of Earth: Day Five [+]Loading...["Children of Earth: Day Five (TV story)"])
By 2011, Yates was serving as Foreign Secretary. He was visited by Mr Black in his office who told him to sell some alien technology to the Americans. When Yates refused, Black hit Yates' head against his desk until he agreed, signing the paperwork that was needed. (PROSE: The Men Who Sold the World [+]Loading...["The Men Who Sold the World (novel)"])
Behind the scenes
Yates' position in government during Children of Earth is never explicitly clarified. According to Torchwood: The Encyclopedia [+]Loading...["Torchwood: The Encyclopedia (reference book)"], Yates is Brian Green's political adviser. In the released script, Green refers to Yates as "special adviser on emergency protocols", although this did not make it into the final episode.[1] Director Euros Lyn describes Yates as a "greasy spin doctor" figure, and Nicholas Briggs said that he has a "quiet agenda" but his status is not "quite so high".[2] Rick Yates may be based on Alastair Campbell, who served in various political strategist roles during Tony Blair's premiership. As an adviser, Yates could also possibly attend cabinet as a minister without portfolio.
Yates makes an appearance in the 2011 novel The Men Who Sold the World [+]Loading...["The Men Who Sold the World (novel)"], in which he serves in the position of Foreign Secretary. This would imply that Yates was or recently became a Member of Parliament in order to have been promoted to the position.
