HC Deb 22 July 1942 vol 382 cc20-1
25. Mr. Ivor Thomas

asked the Minister of Information how much time is devoted daily by the British Broadcasting Corporation to broadcasting to Italy?

Mr. Bracken

The B.B.C. broadcast in Italian for two hours 50 minutes daily; apart from this, His Majesty's Government have been broadcasting from Cairo for 50 minutes a day.

Professor Savory

Would it be possible to have an Italian broadcast between 8.30 p.m. and a very late hour of the night when most of us are in bed?

Mr. Bracken

My hon. Friend must realise that the bedtime of the Italians must be taken into consideration too.

Mr. Thomas

Is my right hon. Friend aware that he gave a very misleading impression in the recent Debate on propaganda when he did not explain that the three hours 40 minutes devoted to broadcasting to Italy was divided between the B.B.C. and Cairo?

Mr. Bracken

On the contrary, I did not give anybody a misleading impression. If he could add up the hon. Member would see that the total I gave was accurate. Secondly, I said that we, as a nation, broadcast, not the B.B.C.

Commander Locker-Lampson

Is there any broadcast to Russia?