§ 40. Sir Percy Hurdasked the Minister of Information whether, in view of the suggestions for some form of Government Press control, he will indicate to representatives of the Press with whom he is discussing the matter that the Government appreciate the restraint and regard for national security with which the great body of the British Press reports and discusses war matters and suggest that, in order to check the careless few, the profession should follow the precedents set by the legal, medical, architectural and other professions and create its own representative council of advice and discipline with statutory powers?
Mr. CooperI agree with the views expressed in the question as to the manner in which the Press have performed their duties, and I have conveyed my appreciation to those members of the Press with whom I have been in contact. In answer to the second part of the Question, I think that proposals of the kind which the hon. Member advocates could only hope to succeed if they commanded the support of the Press as a whole and should therefore emanate from the Press. If representatives of the Press desire to put forward any suggestions for the establishment of a representative council, I shall, of course, receive them with sympathetic attention.