Margot Al-Harazi

Margot Al-Harazi, also known as the "Yorkshire Widow", was a former Al-Qaeda operative who masterminded a plot to commandeer U.S. drones during Day 9. This was part of an effort to assassinate the visiting U.S. President James Heller, in revenge for the drone attack that killed her husband. Margot's children, Simone and Ian, assisted her in her mission.

Biography
Margot attended boarding school, then Cambridge, where she associated with left-wing students. She married and had two children, Simone and Ian. Margot's first husband died while her children were three and five years old. After her husband's death, Margot radicalized and remarried Al-Qaeda commander Mahmoud Al-Harazi. Together Margot and Muhammad staged multiple attacks against the western world, most famous of which was a bombing at a Cairo market killing 36 British tourists. As of Day 9, Margot was considered a senior member of Al-Qaeda in the European Union (AQEU) and was believed to have received training in the Sudan, Yemen and Iraq. She was known to maintain close links with other terrorist groups, including Basque separatist groups and members of the IRA. Margot was a business associate of Karl Rask, an arms dealer who was in contact with her for several years.

Two years before Day 9, Margot was with her husband when he was killed by a U.S. drone attack on a meeting hall in Ghundi Kala, an attack authorized by President James Heller. Twenty-three others also died in the blast, six children among them. Barely escaping with her own life, Margot swore revenge.

Margot hired Derrick Yates, a former free-information hacker with knowledge of weapons systems, to design a module that could take control of up to ten U.S. drones. Simone, in disguise, seduced Yates to ensure he completed the device as agreed.

Day 9
Around 12:00pm, Yates successfully used the module to hijack an MQ-1 Predator above Kajaki Province in Afghanistan and fire upon a U.S. Army convoy. He called Margot at her safe house to report the news, confirmed that he had made her requested modifications, and planned to meet her in person to receive payment.

An hour later, Simone - who had been in disguise as Yates' girlfriend - stabbed Yates to death in a pub bathroom, retrieved the module, and called Margot. She told her mother that Yates had been planning to sell the device to another party, but that it was now in her possession. Margot thanked her daughter, and told her to hurry home.

When Simone arrived at the house, Margot reiterated how important it was that she was not followed. She reacquainted Simone with her husband Naveed, and encouraged Naveed to properly welcome his wife back. After Simone left to get cleaned up, Margot reminded Naveed - who was becoming disillusioned with the cause - that what Simone had done was necessary to achieve their goals. Margot later watched via a surveillance camera as Simone and Naveed had sex. Afterward, Margot found Simone in the kitchen and offered to make some tea. At her mother's insistence, Simone confessed that Naveed was planning to sneak away from the house, taking Simone with him. Margot explained to her daughter that she would do whatever she had to in order to force Naveed to fly the drones for her. She then confronted Naveed, accompanied by Simone and two of her men. When Naveed refused to follow Margot's orders, she had one of her men cut off Simone's little finger with a chisel. Naveed, desperate to stop Margot from hurting his wife further, agreed to comply with her wishes.

After 3:00pm, Margot discovered that the U.S. was grounding its drone fleet, and ordered Naveed to transmit the override signal ahead of schedule. Despite the setback, the device successfully assumed control of six RQ-29 Vanguard stealth drones. Margot posted a video to the CIA's server and several jihadist websites, vilifying President Heller and giving him three hours to surrender himself to her before she began launching attacks using the drones. While transmitting the video, Naveed disabled one of the security buffers, intending to lead the authorities to the estate. Ian discovered the ruse, however, and planted a redirect that would make it appear the video was sent from an empty mansion on Nielson Way. Explaining that Ian had been studying his motions, Margot said that he would be replacing Naveed, then had Naveed beaten and taken to the house's basement.

Margot watched from the drone's feed as a CIA field team raided the empty mansion, and ordered her son to fire upon the building. Convinced of Ian's competence, Margot went downstairs to inform Naveed of the news. Pleading for his life, Naveed warned that Simone would never forgive her for killing him, but she motioned to the top of the stairs, where Simone had appeared. Despite his pleas, Simone did not speak up on his behalf, and Margot shot him in the head.

While Fazil and another man prepared to move the body, Margot consoled her daughter, saying that she did not need to watch. Naveed's phone rang, and Margot listened to a voice mail from his sister Farah, mentioning that they had plans to leave London. Concerned that Farah might have information on her activities, Margot ordered Simone to go to her and handle the situation. Later, Ian told his mother that she shouldn't have killed Naveed in front of Simone, as she had genuine feelings for him. Margot slapped him and warned him to never second-guess her or Simone again.

After meeting up with Farah and her daughter Yasmin, Simone checked in to assure Margot that they were oblivious to their activities, and that she had explained away Naveed's behavior. Nonetheless, Margot was unconvinced, and told Simone to dispose of both Farah and Yasmin.

After 5:00pm, Margot called Simone to find out her status, but a paramedic answered, reporting that Simone had been struck by a bus and was being taken to St. Edwards Hospital. Margot agreed to come down to speak to the police, but after hanging up, she had Ian dispatch Kareem to the hospital to find out what Simone had given up. Her fears were confirmed when Kareem, listening in on Kate Morgan's conversation, reported that Simone had been trying to save Farah and Yasmin. Intent on silencing her daughter, Margot told Kareem to find out what part of the hospital Simone was being treated in, and told Ian to move one of the drones into firing range.

Just before Margot could attack the hospital, Jack Bauer ordered an evacuation of all patients and staff. Regardless, Margot told Ian to fire anyway, damaging a wing of the building and killing several civilians. She spotted Bauer, Morgan, and Simone getting into a car in the parking lot and ordered a second missile, barely missing the car as it sped off. Despite Ian's best efforts, his two subsequent missiles failed to reach their target, and Simone was lost. Realizing that their location might be compromised, Margot gave the order to pack up their equipment and leave their safe house.

Unexpectedly, however, President Heller reached out to Margot directly using the contact information she had provided, and agreed to turn himself over on her conditions, after making her swear on the soul of her husband that, once he did, she would destroy her remaining drones and cease her attacks on the city. Heller agreed to be at Wembley Stadium at 7:00pm. Before they left, Margot told Ian what had transpired and, despite Ian's caution, said that she was willing to uphold her promise so long as Heller held up his.

Margot and her supporters set up camp in an office complex nearby and restarted the drone control station. At the appointed time, Ian navigated one of the drones over the stadium, and was shocked to see Heller standing in the center of the pitch, as he had promised. Ian acquired a targeting lock on the President, then turned over the controls to his mother. After a moment of contemplation, Margot fired, finally completing her mission to avenge her husband.

Background information and notes

 * In the earliest press releases, Margot was described as a "fierce" German arms dealer. Later, her description was amended to "the widow of a notorious terrorist." The confusion over this may come from the character of Karl Rask, a fierce German arms dealer whose plot ties into that of Margot's.
 * Australian actress Judy Davis was cast as Margot in October 2013. After principal photography began, Davis withdrew from the role when family issues prevented her from traveling to London. Michelle Fairley was cast in the role soon thereafter.
 * Fairley describes Margot as "a driven, motivated, passionate woman with a cause in mind...and her cause is revenge."
 * Margot's background is somewhat similar to that of Samantha Lewthwaite, a British member of Al-Shabaab and the widow of the 7/7 London suicide bomber Germaine Lewthwaite. Known as the "White Widow," Lewthwaite is currently one of the world's most-wanted terrorism suspects.
 * In, a screen shows Margot's UK-issued passport number is 207879576, while her interagency ID number is 11235813.