HC Deb 11 December 1947 vol 445 c1194
64. Mr. Bramall

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it was with his sanction that information was conveyed to the Press which enabled them to reveal the withdrawal of the advertisement tax before this was announced to the House.

Mr. Glenvil Hall

No such information was imparted to the Press by the Treasury.

Mr. Bramall

Has my right hon. Friend any information which would lead the House to know from what source the information came which appeared in the early editions of the evening papers before the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave his information to the House?

Mr. Glenvil Hall

We have looked at the Press for that day. Although there may have been intelligent forecasts of what my right hon. and learned Friend would do, there were no definite assertions.

Mr. Gallacher

Is it not a fact that a Member on the other side of the House told us that he had been appointed chairman of the committee before the House met to discuss the withdrawal of the proposed tax?

Mr. Glenvil Hall

My recollection is—and I am speaking from memory—that he made that statement during the actual Debate.

Mr. Gallacher

Yes, he made the statement during the Debate. Was it not a case that he made the statement that he had been asked beforehand to act as chairman of the committee and had agreed to act? It was not during the Debate that he was asked to he chairman of the committee. It was all cut and dried before he came into the House.