Zafar Jaffrey
Who they are
The Prime Minister’s favourite Muslim and an independent candidate for Mayor of the West Midlands — the spokesman his community is supposed to have, and the one the Service spends the book deciding whether to protect or to use. He has a bagman, Tyson Bowman, a press adviser, Ed Timms, a younger brother, Karim Jaffrey, and a habit of doing favours that do not bear inspection.
He is a politician with a problem he cannot name: his brother survived a drone strike in August 2016 and wants his old life back, which means papers, which means Reginald Blaine’s stationer’s shop near St Paul’s. C10 has him paying the balance; C11 has him collecting the package and being met by Claude Whelan at a pavement café.
What they want
To keep the nomination and the family’s story from colliding. He tells Timms not to worry about Gimball’s speech (C05), tells Tyson to fix whatever needs fixing, and when Tyson’s confrontation with Gimball becomes a liability, decides Tyson must disappear (C08). The brother is the thing he will not give up; the bagman is the thing he will.
Book 5 — London Rules
- C02 — Named by Whelan and Taverner as the PM’s favoured candidate, to be rechecked with the Dogs.
- C03 — Offstage: the Gimballs’ column and speech are aimed at him.
- C05 — At the Dewdrop Café, warned by Timms of the coming accusation, asking Tyson whether anything needs fixing.
- C07 — Addressing a library in Birmingham while Louisa Guy studies his audience.
- C09 — Questions Tyson about the confrontation with Gimball and decides he must disappear.
- C11 — In London, paying the rest of Blaine’s money for a false passport.
- C12 — Collects the package, rings his mother, and is approached by Whelan, who knows what he bought and why.
Open questions
Whether the passport is for Karim or for himself, and whether he understands that buying it is the end of his candidacy rather than the rescue of his brother.
Related
Karim Jaffrey · Tyson Bowman · Ed Timms · Reginald Blaine · Claude Whelan