§ LORD TEVIOTMy Lords, I beg to ask the second question standing in my name.
§ [The question was as follows:
§ To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are aware of the statements made by the British Broadcasting Corporation and in the Press giving facts about the cities recently bombed in this country, which is some respects might convey information useful to the enemy.]
§ THE MINISTER OF ECONOMIC WARFARE (THE EARL OF SELBORNE)My Lords, I am aware of a recent case in which a detail was disclosed prematurely owing to a censor's error of judgment. In general, however, my right honourable friend is satisfied that the present code of censorship rules is so designed as to deal with the complex problem of air-raid stories in an intelligent and practical manner, and all sections of the Press and the B.B.C. have been most loyal and helpful in carrying out its requirements. I should like to make it quite plain to your Lordships that if a mistake was made on the occasion to 1021 which my noble friend, I think, refers, it was a mistake on the part of the censor, and the B.B.C. and the Press were in no way responsible. They were merely transmitting to the public information which had been issued to them. The matter has been taken notice of, and I am sure that nothing of this sort will occur again.