Anthony Horowitz who created as well as writing this episode is Jewish. He has mentioned in the past that he received anti Semitic comments at school and the subject matter of this episode would be somewhat personal to him. As this episode was first broadcast in 2002 I think Horowitz captures the growing Islamophobia in Britain at the time due to the 2001 race riots in various British towns and the aftermath of 9/11.
We are still in the early days of world war 2. Some in the south east coast think that it is only a matter of time that the Nazis invade Britain, almost as if resistance is futile.
Guy Spencer (Charles Dance) is the leader of a fascist pro-Nazi movement known as the Friday Club, not far removed from Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts. Despite his protestation that he abhors violence, his thugs are happy to dish it out. There is a scene where they make fun of Jews.
Seargent Paul Milner invalided out of the army is settling into his new job with Foyle, his wife is uncomfortable with his disability but we see early on that he might be swayed by the likes of Spencer who he meets while waiting in the rain.
A planned secret meeting in a hotel goes wrong when the vile co-owner of the hotel and Nazi sympathiser Margaret Ellis is shot dead, the likely target should had been Spencer.
Foyle already investigating the arrest of a young girl for sabotaging telephone lines finds a link with the Ellis family, whose son is vehemently against his parents mixing with the fascists. The meeting contained senior personnel from the Foreign Office, the group had also been infiltrated by military intelligence and one of the hotel guests was a Jew with a grudge against Spencer.
The episode nicely sets out the pessimism prevalent in that region of England as well as the connivance of these fascists groups operating in Britain as if they were advancing Hitler's arguments for him but cloaked in the wrapper of wanting peace.
The episode is well presented especially with the period setting. The mystery though was a bit convoluted and far fetched.
