NEW DEPARTMENT

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20832, 16 June 1939, Page 8

NEW DEPARTMENT

4.30 O’CLOCK EDITION

FOREIGN PUBLICITY IN EVENT OF WAR PREPARATIONS IN BRITAIN (Official Wireless) (’Received June 16. 3.15 p.m.' RUGBY, June 15 Tn continuing his speech in the House of Commons Mr Neville Chamberlain said:— “The House is aware that a great deal of valuable work is already done in spreading the knowledge of Britain through the cultural and educational work of the British Council and in the dissemination of accurate information and counteracting foreign misrepresentation of British policy and action by the British Broadcasting Corporation in its foreign language broadcasts and by the press. “The Foreign Office maintains the necessary contacts with all these channels of publicity. There is reason to suppose that these efforts have been a good deal more effective than is generally realised, but the Government is of opinion that their effectiveness could be considerably strengthened if their direction were co-ordinated and concentrated on a special department of the Foreign Office. "Accordingly It has been dej elded to set up a new department * under the name of the Foreign ! Publicity Department of the J Foreign Office. “This department will include the section of the news department which previously has been concerned with this work and will be provided with an additional staff. A Parliamentary Under-Secretary will give special attention to the Foreign Publicity Department, and I am glad to say that the Earl of Perth, whose wide acquaintance with international affairs is well known, has accepted the invitation of Viscount Halifax to undertake the general supervision, under him, of the work of the department. Ministry of Information In the event of this country ever becoming engaged in a major war it would be the intention of the Government to set up at once a Ministry of Information, with a Cabinet Minister at its head, and a Director-General, whose status would be equivalent to that of the permanent head of a public department of the first rank. “Sir Samuel Hoare has at my request undertaken the responsibility of preparing the necessary plans, in connection with which considerable preliminary work has already been done, and the Earl of Perth, in addition to the duties I have already mentioned, will also be available to assist in completing these plans as Director-General-designate of the Ministry of Information in time of war.

“The Ministry of Information will only operate in wartime. In peace conditions, after the necessary plans have been completed, there will only exist a skeleton organisation, without which swift action would be possible if an emergency arose.”