Harold Saxon

Shortly following his election, Prime Minister "Harold Saxon" smiles to the camera. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

"Harold Saxon", or Harry, was a fictional human politician. Using this constructed persona as an alias, an incarnation of the Renegade Time Lord known as the Master infiltrated the British government, even being elected as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, before using this position to effect a takeover of Earth. Though he then dropped the façade and openly presented himself as "the Master," some continued to refer to him by the name of "Saxon", including a cult of disciples he had founded.

A day after achieving a record-breaking election landslide, Harold Saxon was fatally shot by his wife, moments after murdering the US President live on TV. In the public domain, Harold Saxon didn't exist, though UNIT still kept files.

Background

In the year 100,000,000,000,000, the War Master, shortly after asserting himself back over his human Professor Yana disguise, which he created to hide from the Last Great Time War, (TV: The Sound of Drums) was fatally shot by Chantho. This forced him to regenerate into his next incarnation but not before he shut himself inside the Doctor's TARDIS. From within the TARDIS, the voice of the Saxon Master was recognised by Martha Jones before he took his leave, stranding the Tenth Doctor and his companions (TV: Utopia) but not before the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to fuse the TARDIS's coordinates, ostensibly restricting the Master to travel between the year 100,000,000,000,000 and the last place the TARDIS landed in the 2000s, though a "little leeway" of eighteen months existed. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

Fictography

During eighteen months, as discovered by Vivien Rook, the Master fabricated the recorded life of Harold Saxon, making his first true physical appearance just after the downfall of British Prime Minister Harriet Jones, (TV: The Sound of Drums) which was set in motion by the Tenth Doctor on 25 December 2006 in response to her actions during the Sycorax invasion of Earth. (TV: The Christmas Invasion)

Early life

Born to a mother and father, Saxon went through school, earnt a degree, and graduated from Cambridge University. (TV: The Sound of Drums) However, his achievements extended beyond academia. He was a former Rugby Blue who had also excelled at athletics. (PROSE: The Time Travellers' Almanac)

Becoming a businessman, he published a bestselling novel, Kiss Me, Kill Me, and met his wife, Lucy Cole, when she worked on his autobiography. (PROSE: The Time Travellers' Almanac)

The Master in disguise

Ann Widdecombe endorses "Harold Saxon" for Prime Minister. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

As recorded by Vivien Rook, Harold Saxon made his first true appearance just after the downfall of British Prime Minister Harriet Jones, (TV: The Sound of Drums) which was brought about the Tenth Doctor on 25 December 2006. (TV: The Christmas Invasion) At the same time, the Archangel Network of fifteen satellites was launched by Saxon, already a minister in the British government. Ostensibly a mobile phone network, Archangel was used by the Master to influence the human population of Earth, first to believe the story of "Harold Saxon", then to "Vote Saxon", as well as preventing the Doctor from sensing him as another Time Lord on Earth. However, the Master later conceded that only "99" or "98" percent of people were successfully influenced. (TV: The Sound of Drums, The Christmas Invasion) Among those who were affected was Martha Jones, who had intended to vote for Saxon despite being ignorant of his policies and what he stood for. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

Harold married a woman named Lucy Cole who, as Rook observed, came from a "not especially bright but essentially harmless" family. As Lucy recalled, Harold was "so very good" to her father. In reality, Lucy ultimately understood who Harold really was, and chose to become his companion and wife. (TV: The Sound of Drums) Using the Doctor's TARDIS, the two visited the end of the universe and gained the allegiance of the Toclafane, the cyborg descendants of humanity. (TV: Last of the Time Lords)

While on Earth, he formed the Disciples of Saxon, a group of humans who worshipped Harold Saxon, while realising that his true name was the Master. Composing the Secret Books of Saxon, he prepared Potions of Life that would be used to resurrect him in the event of his death. (TV: The End of Time)

After March 2007, Saxon was reported by The Daily Telegraph newspaper as leading polls with 64% during a state of "government paralysis". (TV: Love & Monsters) In light of the downfall of Harriet Jones, an election was called to decide the next Prime Minister. Harold Saxon put forward his bid for Prime Minister, beginning the "Vote Saxon" campaign, with posters appearing from London to Cardiff (TV: Smith and Jones, Captain Jack Harkness) while websites were established to cover Harold Saxon. Among the people who backed Saxon were Ann Widdecombe, Sharon Osbourne and the band McFly. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

In the meantime, Saxon served as Minister of Defence. While a member of the Ministry of Defence, the Master helped design "every detail" of the UNIT aircraft carrier Valiant, which he would describe as "some of [his] best work". (TV: The Sound of Drums)

On 24 December 2007, Mr. Saxon gave the order for a Challenger 2 to destroy the Racnoss Webstar which was attacking London. (TV: The Runaway Bride) As Jack Harkness recalled, this was when Saxon first came to prominence. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

During his campaign for Prime Minister, the Master visited Mildfields School, using the Archangel Network to brainwash the staff into having false memories of "Saxon" to gain political support. One teacher, James Curtis, was resistant to the Network, so the Master used his laser screwdriver to implant the appropriate memories into his mind, but not before Curtis voiced his concerns to journalist Vivien Rook. (PROSE: Speech Day)

By the time Martha Jones met the Doctor in the 2000s, Saxon was noted as speaking openly about the existence of alien life beyond Earth. (TV: Smith and Jones) The night before, Saxon sparred with Paxman on Newsnight, which Martha watched. (PROSE: Martha Jones' MySpace blog) The next day, Royal Hope Hospital was temporarily transported to the Moon before being returned to Earth. Amongst the eyewitnesses within the hospital was medical student Oliver Morgenstern, who reported his experiences, including seeing the Earth suspended in space, to the news, which he took as proof that Saxon was right. (TV: Smith and Jones)

Meanwhile, as part of a trap he had laid for the Doctor, the Master financially backed Richard Lazarus' Lazarus Laboratories, who created a genetic manipulation device in an attempt to reverse the human ageing process. To this end, Saxon was responsible for Tish Jones being employed as head of the PR department for Lazarus Laboratories.

The night after the Royal Hope Hospital incident, Lazarus presented the device to an assembly of potential investors before he tested the process on himself in a demonstration attended by the Doctor and the Jones family. Ultimately, a flaw in the device rapidly evolved Lazarus into a ravenous creature which went on a rampage before being stopped by the Doctor, resulting in Lazarus' death. Meanwhile that night, Francine Jones, mother of Martha and Tish Jones, was approached by a man who, aware of Martha's association with the Doctor, warned Francine that he was dangerous. Soon after, Francine left a message on Martha's answerphone at home, claiming to have information from Harold Saxon which identified the Doctor as a danger. (TV: The Lazarus Experiment, The Sound of Drums)

By election day, three days after the Royal Hope incident, (TV: The Sound of Drums) the Master had Miss Dexter enlist Francine's help in tracking Martha and the Doctor, tapping and tracing Francine's phone conversations with her daughter as she travelled with the Doctor. (TV: 42) As the vote "[swang]" Saxon's way, future members of his cabinet, as the Master put it, abandoned their political parties and jumped on "the Saxon bandwagon". Vivien Rook, a reporter for the Sunday Mirror, published Harold Saxon, A Modern Churchill, which she described as "the definitive think piece on the great man himself." In actuality, however, Rook found Harold Saxon's life story to be a lie as she researched him. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

After being elected Prime Minister, "Harold Saxon" addressed the nation with his wife Lucy beside him. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

Ultimately, the Master won the election as "Harold Saxon". Meanwhile, he had Tish Jones phoned "out of the blue" with a job offer at 10 Downing Street. He also had a bomb planted behind the television in Martha Jones' flat, while sending the Torchwood Cardiff team on a wild goose chase to the Himalayas, preventing them from assisting Jack.

Immediately following election day, "Harold Saxon" returned from the Palace to Saxon Headquarters where, with his wife standing beside him, he greeted the crowd which had gathered outside. In a speech to television cameras, Saxon commented that the country had been "sick" and was in need of healing and medicine. Finally, he proclaimed that what the country "really need[ed] right now" was a doctor before giving a smile to the cameras. This address was witnessed by the Doctor, Martha and Jack Harkness, who had just had returned to the Earth of Martha's present day from when the newly regenerated Master stranded them in the year 100,000,000,000,000, using Jack Harkness' vortex manipulator to escape.

Following his address, Harold Saxon appeared at 10 Downing Street, where he was handed numerous documents for his first session of the cabinet, including the finance report, military protocol, EC directive, annual budget, and policy recommendations. Openly kissing his wife, Saxon was approached by a confused Tish, to whom he instructed to simply "stand there and look gorgeous". Entering the Cabinet Room, Saxon threw the papers he had been given into the air before the cabinet, which included Albert Dumfries. Branding the cabinet "traitors" who had abandoned their parties to back him, Saxon "reward[ed]" them by gassing them to death as he sat, protected by a gas mask. Following this, it was claimed that the cabinet had gone "into seclusion".

Despite Tish's attempt to stop her, Vivien Rook "barg[ed]" her way in to meet with Lucy Saxon at 10 Downing Street, ostensibly to request a 20 minute interview for a front page profile piece on "Britain's First Lady and "The Power Behind the Throne". With Mrs. Saxon being convinced to accept and Tish leaving the pair alone, Rook voiced her warning that Lucy, the country and the world were in great danger. While presented with Vivien's evidence of "Harold Saxon's" deception, Lucy revealed that she was aware when she called out to her husband, who had been in the room. Admitting that "Harold Saxon" did not exist, the Master identified himself and introduced his friends, the Toclafane, who killed Rook.

Shortly after, "Saxon" made a televised address to the people of Britain in a broadcast on all channels. In it he recalled the alien incidents of recent years, including the destruction of Big Ben, the spaceship over London, the "ghosts and metal men" and "the Christmas star that came to kill". While recalling that the previous governments disclosed nothing to the public, "Saxon" promised that he would not do so as he introduced the Toclafane, who claimed to come in peace, bringing great gifts, technology, wisdom and protection in exchange for only friendship. "Saxon" then announced that the Toclafane would appear openly on the following morning to begin diplomatic relations, claiming that all would take their place in the universe, from every man, woman and child to every teacher, chemist, lorry driver, farmer and medical student; the latter refering to Martha Jones, this alerted the Doctor and his companions just in time to escape the bomb which destroyed Martha's flat.

Meanwhile, Miss Dexter and her men were present at Francine's home where, anticipating that Martha would call her, had Clive Jones, Martha's father and Francine's ex-husband, coerced into joining them there in an attempt to lure Martha. Clive, however, warned his daughter to run, resulting in Dexter marking Condition Red on the Jones plan, leading to the arrest of Martha's family members. Martha, who had headed to her mother's location, only just managed to escape with the Doctor and Jack. Intercepting Martha's phone call to her brother Leo Jones, the Master was contacted by the Doctor. Into their call, the Doctor and his companions found that they were reported as terrorists on BBC News 24, forcing them to go into hiding.

That night, President of the United States Arthur Coleman Winters landed on British soil in Air Force One to angrily confront "Harold Saxon" other his undisclosed contact with the Toclafane, which violated the United Nations Security Council's first contact policy. With the backing of the United Nations and UNIT, Winters threatened to have Saxon removed from office as he called in the Valiant to serve as the venue for first contact. Little did the President realise, the Master had planned for this, having placed the TARDIS, cannibalised into a paradox machine set to activate at 8:02AM, within the Valiant.

In the morning, "Harold Saxon" sat eagerly with his wife on the flight deck as President Winters took control of the preparations of the first contact, which was to be broadcast on television. Though "Saxon" invited Winters to make the address to the four Toclafane, they rejected the President and asked for their "Master". Promptly stepping up, "Saxon" announced that he was "taking control" before having a Toclafane assassinate the President by disintergrating him. While the Doctor and his companions were also present, hidden by a perception filter, the Master saw through them and had the Doctor captured by security personnel before using his laser screwdriver to temporarily kill Jack.

At 8:02, the paradox machine activated, creating a tear in the sky through which six billion Toclafane came down and conquered the Earth, decimating humanity while Martha escaped the Valiant. (TV: The Sound of Drums) As the Toclafane were descendants of humanity from the end of the universe, the paradox machine was required to preserve the existence of the New Time Lord Empire they created with the Master. Over the following year, the Master dropped the alias of Harold Saxon as he ruled the Earth. Ultimately, however, the Doctor and his companions, using the Archangel Network against the Master, allowed for the paradox machine to be destroyed, reversing the Year That Never Was to the moment just after the President's assassination but just before the Toclafane would have arrived. However, as the eye of the storm, the Valiant remained unchanged with all those within remembering the negated year.

Shortly after the reversal of time, the Master was fatally shot by Lucy Saxon and refused to regenerate, dying in the Doctor's arms. (TV: Last of the Time Lords) From the perspective of the general public, Harold Saxon had disappeared following the assassination of President Winters, having "went mad". (TV: The End of Time) Other sources, such as AMNN, presumed him to have died as well. (AUDIO: Driving Miss Wells)

Legacy

Despite his brief tenure, Harold Saxon was recorded as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. However, the Disciples of Saxon observed that no-one knew who Harold Saxon truly was, where he came from, and why he was killed. (TV: The End of Time)

For killing Harold Saxon, Lucy Saxon was held in a secret trial with no jury and so imprisoned in Broadfell Prison. Meanwhile, Miss Trefusis of the Disciples of Saxon secretly recovered Saxon's ring as his body was cremated by the Tenth Doctor. On 24 December in approximately the 2000s, after having the prison governor disposed of, another disciple became the new governor and had Lucy brought before the disciples who assembled within the prison. By taking Saxon's imprint on Lucy's lips, the final biometrical signature, and combining it with the the ring and the Potions of Life, the disciples successfully resurrected the Master while allowing him to take their life forces. However, the resurrection was sabotaged by Lucy, who revealed that her family had devised an opposition to the Potion of Life, resulting in her and the disciples deaths as the prison was destroy. The Master, however, survived but with limited life force.

Rumours of the disciples and return of Harold Saxon were found by Abigail Naismith, daughter of billionaire Joshua Naismith. On 25 December, the Master was recognised as resembling former Prime Minister Harold Saxon by Ginger before being captured by men acting on Naismith's orders. Having acquired the broken Immortality Gate, Naismith intended for who he knew as "Harold Saxon" to fix it on 26 December. Meanwhile, undercover Vinvocci, whose species had created the Immortality Gate, pondered that "Saxon" could assist them with the Gate which they worked to salvage. Ultimately, "Saxon", asserting that he was the Master, completed repairs within Christmas Day. (TV: The End of Time)

UNIT recorded the Master's activities as Harold Saxon as an incursion, which Petronella Osgood acknowledged to the Twelfth Doctor when the Master returned as Missy. Noting that they had all ex-Prime Ministers on file, Osgood remarked that Missy "wasn't even the worst". (TV: Death in Heaven)

Alice O'Donnell, a native of the year 2119, identified 1980 as being "pre-Harold Saxon". (TV: Before the Flood)

While aboard the Mondasian colony ship, the Master found that his disguise as "Mr. Razor" was necessary when interacting with Bill Potts, noting to Missy that he was her former Prime Minister. (TV: World Enough and Time)

The Blue Box Files covered "Saxon truthers" in an episode of their podcast. (AUDIO: Requiem)

Behind the scenes

On the series 2 version of the Torchwood website, Owen Harper did a report on the "wild goose chase" Torchwood Three went on that was mentioned by Harold Saxon during The Sound of Drums. At 5am, Ianto Jones picked up a phone call telling Torchwood about "[s]omething funny going on in the Himalayas", which Ianto specified was in Pakistan. Ianto claimed to Owen that the call came from UNIT, who were "already there", calling for "all four of us" — Owen, Ianto, Toshiko Sato and Gwen Cooper, and that according to them it was connected to Abaddon.

Torchwood were briefed that there was apparently another space-time rift, halfway up K2. While Tosh was setting up rift-detecting equipment at the location on K2 that was given, a humanoid doll resembling their missing leader, Captain Jack Harkness — described by Owen as "quite a good likeness" — was rigged to jump out of the snow from a spring at the moment the equipment was activated. Owen dubbed it a "Jack-in-the-box", adding, "How bleeding hilarious." The team realised it was a set-up. After two days waiting for transport, Torchwood Three headed back home.

On the trip back, they learnt Saxon had won the election, murdered the American President and was himself murdered by his wife. Owen noted from this that "a week really is a long time in politics".